On June 26th of 2021 just 2 days before my 52nd birthday I bought Raymond, our Stealthy Healthy road warrior. We had been talking about a travel journey for nearly 6 years. The start of this dream began at the end of my last drinking days. We had been attending an annual camping retreat in the Sequoia National Forest for a few years, where I had originally been asked to chef for just years earlier. There I was, just 3 months sober and I said yes. Quitting drinking gave me new life for me to participate in, a life I’d only dream of years prior.
I cooked for 300 people in the Forest 2 meals a day for 6 days. And tent camped for 11 days total. It was hard work. ( I was used to that, but here i was the CHEF, and didnt have all the help and normal kitchen luxuries Id had in a real professional kitchen. I had a BBQ pit, a small household style freezer, household size refrigerator, a couple gas burners, and water tanks far away frim property! My pans, were all my own personal supply and lots I borrowed from the district. Day 3 of the event I was exhausted, getting angry at the lack of support, etc etc. I worked in kitchen from dusk as the sun came up to well after the sun went down. Day 3 I was exhausted and irritable at the lack of support I had. I hung in there and it was a true test of sobriety as I did not engage in drinking, smoking, or any thing else offered to me to cool me off. I knew if I could get through that, I could get through anything SOBER. And so I did.
At these events I was introduced to Reiki, Sound Healing, acupuncture, Tai chi, African drumming and much more (and all sorts of Holistic modalities that piqued my interest.) I decided that i would only return each year after that as a guest and retired my cooking at this event. So here I was tired of my life, I was tired and miserable I. My school district job of food service manager but not being able to cook from scratch due to the lack of trust by the district. I tried hard to appeal to them that making fresh food in house was not only more economical, but also would of course be much more fulfilling palatably, but nutritionally too. How by making fresh food would improve morale, behaviors and grades.That with all the money they would save by scratch cooking they could actually bring more work and jobs for Ojai residents. It would have been a win win situation. The district wasnt ready for that. So here I was, a trained chef, reheating pre made, pre frozen entreees..Where was the joy in that you ask? The joy was in caring for the children. Their smiles, their laughter, their joy, and their beautiful honest pure souls. I knew all their names, and had a loving and silly banter with each and every one of them.
At this annual Elements event, one day I spoke to another beautiful healer sister named Janet Grace. I told her I was a healer and this was my purpose in life. To help others through my experience, strengths and hopes and in my lessons in my life. It hasn’t been an easy life, but I’ve become a beacon of light and I’m meant to share that light with others, and I had actually been doing that from childhood, just not in an introduced modality. I told Janet that I wanted a travelling vehicle and wanted to travel sharing my gifts with others. 2 years later I became a Certified Reiki Master, Sound Healer, and Crystal healer with many other modalities in my tool box.( I was blessed to be taught by a very gifted teacher named Victoria Vives Khuong) Just 6 years later I was able to buy RAYMOND.
