Kim started her life exploring and playing in the surf in the small artist colony of Laguna Beach, CA, in 1957. Her dad was a well-regarded cartoonist and admired painter of nudes — the rage of the time. Her mom was the pianist at the Laguna Beach Playhouse. Good times until the day Kim’s world tilted. Her dad suddenly announced he was done painting nudes and drawing cartoons and wanted to move to Spain to paint gypsies and matadors. No discussion, no choice.
Yanked up by the roots, eight-year-old Kim was bundled onto the plane headed to Spain with her mom and little sister. In an instant, familiar and comfortable were replaced by foreign and the unknown.
Yes #1 — Adapting to Different
Kim landed in the Andalucía region of southern Spain in a small town outside of Sevilla. Despite not knowing a word of Spanish, she was thrust into a Spanish-speaking-only, strict Catholic school. Terrified, shy little Kim spent her days trying to become invisible. Eventually, however, bright, curious Kim’s insatiable drive to learn overcame her reticence, and soon she was fluent in Spanish. On weekends, the family reveled in authentic gypsy parties and celebrations.
The colorful costumes and the exuberant playing of violins, accordions, and guitars, accompanied by lively singing and dancing, captured Kim’s being. And then there were the bullfights in the plaza de toros, the ornate, decorated arenas filled with men dressed in traje de corto and women adorned in colorful dresses. The palpable buzz of excitement and anticipation flooded Kim with sensory overload. She adapted and thrived living in this different culture. The rhythm of life was exhilarating until the fateful day arrived, and Dad announced he was ready to move on.
Uprooted once more, off they went, seeking new adventures and subjects to paint, but now, her parents were fighting. Dad soon found a new lady-love, and eleven-year-old Kim had no choice but to accompany Mom and sister back to the States.
Yes #2 — Defining “Supposed-Tos”
Kim fast-tracked through school and, when no longer under her mother’s control, trekked to Spain as often as she had the money to reconnect with her dad. They loved traveling by train throughout Western Europe, exploring and visiting art museums. Back home, Kim earned a B.A. in Fine Arts and a Master’s in lithography and printmaking. Stopping to enjoy the unexpected, Kim interrupted her trip to pursue a print-making career in New Mexico to work a few days in a horse stable in Sonoma County and stayed to marry the stable manager. Her mom was appalled.
How could Kim choose to muck out horse stalls instead of using her college degrees? Kim and her husband started a roofing company and spent their weekends panning for gold in the Yuba River. By age forty, she was a composite materials guru, a roofing specialist, a gold miner, an expert horse mucker, a fine artist and lithographer, and a newly divorced mother of two
.Yes #3 — Learning and Leveraging
Kim’s next career began as a “kitchen lady” at the Windsor, CA Middle School. Her Modus Operandi for the past forty years continued to guide her path: dive in, soak up everything you can about the subject, get really good at whatever you are doing, and feel proud of yourself. She set out to learn every job at the school. Soon, she moved from the kitchen to being a resource aid and then to being a schoolyard attendant.
Next, she started researching all the subjects taught in the school and soon became the preferred substitute teacher for all classes in all the grades! Kim particularly loved interacting with the “little smart-ass skater boys.” Bring it on — you can’t fool me, she’d tell them. She was known for her interactive lesson plans.
Kim's passion for teaching and her ability to connect with students made her the popular choice in the school community. Her bonus was meeting her wife, Laura, a teacher at the school. They have been happily together for almost twenty years now.
Payoff from Saying Yes
Retired, Kim rediscovered her artistic skills when asked to help with a fundraiser for the local pet shelter. She raised money by painting dogs, cats, and horses. Kim volunteers for the Sebastopol Center for the Arts. She knows where everything is and how to do everything a volunteer migh need, from moving walls to changing light bulbs to setting up exhibits.
The birth cards Kim wanted to discard were her extreme shyness and feelings of insecurity. She faced her fears by giving rein to her insatiable curiosity and desire to learn and in exchange, she increased her self-worth.
Kim achieved her sense of fulfillment by assuming responsibility for her own well-being.
She is proud of her accomplishments and her ability to help others.
