About

My name is Julie.
I am a 63-year-old woman who has recently found herself divorced and starting life anew.

I am the mom of an only child who is now a grown man and successful at not only business but more so as the father of two young children.

I am an adoptee as well as a retired educator.

I taught and was the Instructional Coordinator of Fine Arts for almost 31 years—
working within the same school system my entire career–
of which was quite an honor and privilege.
I served as the chairman of the Fine Arts Department and taught everything from introductory
course work, upper-level classes in Painting, Drawing, Ceramics,
to AP Studio Art–I was also IB (International Baccalaureate) certified and
even had a stint at coaching girls track.

However, it was because of my dad, who was first diagnosed with the early stages of
Alzheimer’s Disease/ dementia that lead me to the decision to retire after 31 years in the classroom.
At the time, my then husband and I decided it was time for me to be able to be both
more flexible and available to my dad and his growing needs.
When Dad was diagnosed with inoperable bladder cancer in the late summer of 2016,
our journey and struggle intensified but our hope never diminished.

Dad endured his battle with a quiet fortitude…
the same quiet fortitude that has marked his generation as that
Greatest Generation.

Dad passed away on March 19, 2017.

I was adopted when I was still an infant and my parents, “mom and dad” who I often
write about or refer to, are who I have always considered as being my parents…
despite the fact that I actually came into this world as someone else’s child.

As a teacher and when I was still in the classroom, as an Art Educator,
I greatly enjoyed the creative process—I possess an appreciation for art history
with a keen interest in Byzantine, Medieval and early Renaissance art…
as well as a fascination in the creation of Eastern Orthodox Iconography.

I am also a very deeply spiritual individual who embraces my Christian faith very seriously.
As I age, growing older, and having more experiences of life that
are good and bad, happy and sad, painful and joyous–
I continue to marvel in the single fact that
I am the created and not the Creator.

I also possess a tremendous passion for travel as I feel traveling helps to make
an extremely large and diverse world a little friendlier–
as it calls for understanding and empathy which are results of spending time
in someone else’s “world”—
as all of us on this planet share a very similar human history and relationship—
the things that make us more alike than different are those ties that bind
together rather than separate……

And so, now, here I am wanting to “blog”—not so much about aging parents,
or disease, or dying, or adoption, or retirement, or motherhood, or even about divorce …
but because of all of that and then some…
so I thank you for deciding to come along with me on this adventure.

COPYRIGHT regarding my pictures and posts:

All text and photographs are © Julie Cook cookiecrumbstoliveby.wordpress.com/,
“Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without the express and written permission
from the author of this blog is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used,
provided that full and clear credit is given to Julie Cook and cookiecrumbstoliveby.wordpress.com/
with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.”