Remembering my mother

You may have noted I was out of touch for the last month. At the end of February I said goodbye to my dear 91-year-old mother, Terry Beggy, who remained fiesty and independent right up til the end. She devoted her life to her five children and her husband Charlie, providing a nurturing and supportive home. She was the opposite of a “helicopter mom” because she gave us the tools to build our own wings to fly rather than do the flying for us. As I wrote in the Acknowledgements for Master of Field Arts, it was due to inspiration from both Dad and Mom that I became who I am today. I love the photo above, one of hundreds of memories we shared on birdwatching trips and exploring for wildflowers every spring (2004 superbloom west of Tucson). She was my best friend as well as my mother, and I will always miss her.