I stumbled. I succeeded. I fell backwards.

Our guest blogger this month is Caroline “Rusty” Orr. Rusty has worked for several member service associations and held administrative and management positions in the private and public sectors.  A former lobbyist, she represented the interests of rural education and the very special population of special needs students.  Rusty currently holds the position of Mail Ballot Manager with the Adams County Clerk and Recorders office, Brighton, CO. Thank you Rusty for accepting our invitations without hesitance and for being such an active supporter of the Shimmer, Sparkle, Shine Project. 

At the seasoned age of 70 did I ever doubt whether I would make it to that number?

Yes.

At the spry age of 50 did 70 seem ever so far away?

Yes.

At the “been there done that” age of 30 did 50 read like an old number?

Yes.

At the “know-it-all” age of my late teens did 30 remind me of not my mother but my grandmother?

Yes!

Am I lucky to have been where I was, where I’ve been, and looking forward to where I’m going?

Oh Yes.

As a youngster my home life was a fairly unsettled, but I had a Mom who looked out for me.  That was the lucky part. 

What wasn’t? Let’s see … my last name was Kutz.  Do you have any idea what my school mates did to my name?  In elementary school I was tagged with ‘kootie’.  Yuk.  Thought I’d never lose that.  But I did. All through school I was used as the center point, whether it was in a group picture or someone needed something from a tall shelf.  Gangly, tall, awkward, covered in freckles with a dash of being outspoken thrown in.  Hey, who was going to look out for me if I didn’t? I was a scrapper.

I decided then and there that I would be me. I needed to be happy with me, who I was.  I mattered. The way I would/could stand apart from others?  Volunteers needed?  My hand shot up in the air.  Need someone to organize, who can? My hand shot up in the air.

Now Mom wasn’t always thrilled with my accepting decisions.  Especially the time I said, “oh sure, I can accompany my friend on the piano as he played “Flight of the Bumblebee” on the saxophone.  Did I mention it was for a state competition? Or when the student director of the 100 voice choir at Girls State at Ohio University froze up and couldn’t lead – yep, I did.

But my growing-up years into adulthood was at times a tangled mess, or a hot mess in today’s words! I stumbled.  I succeeded.  I fell backwards.  But, I kept pulling myself up again. Nearly every step of my way I was fortunate to have mentors who believed in me, who wanted to see me succeed even when I thought I couldn’t.  And I was fortunate to have a Mom and siblings and friends who cared about me every day and supported me with wisdom and kindness and love.

So now, here I am at 70.  I made it this far and hope to make it further!  I’m sharing with you, our up-and-coming generations, that with every step you take you will excel, step back a time or two, and move forward again.  Be you. Be proud of who you are. Speak up. You have so much to give to each of us. 

You will find your gift, your way ... I can’t wait to see and hear what that will be.