Saying Yes to Things That Are Important

from Insight | September 2012

Take Steps to Stay Safe in the Workplace

We love Boone! It’s not a metropolis, there isn’t a ton of concrete, and you have a lot of breathing room, which is really nice. Many years ago, we bought a timeshare in Willow Valley – which is right outside of Boone. We spent a week there and went home (to southeast Florida) and put our house on the market. Within the year, we were moving. We just fell in love with the area so we literally moved up lock, stock, and barrel.

After you are out and about with people all day, it’s nice to just get home and take a deep breath. My husband and I are homebodies. But when we do go out, we have really enjoyed going to the new roller derby to watch the Appalachian Roller Girls. It’s basically indoor rollerskating and the community has really embraced it – they have a really big following. They are a lot of fun!

My husband and I have been together since 1981. He is retired now, but when we first moved here, he was a ski instructor at Beech Mountain, and he got their adaptive ski program for handicapped skiers started. It’s similar to Special Olympics in that they have special equipment to work with skiers who have lost a limb or both limbs. When it wasn’t ski season, he was in the construction company and worked for a couple of different contractors in the area.

I have a stepdaughter who is married and has two little boys that are seven and five years old. It’s the perfect age. We love being down there and spending time with them – they are just a lot of fun. They wear us out, though! Whenever we go spend a week with them, we are like, OK, we’ve got to go home because we are tired.

When I was president of my local association in 2001, we had a huge growth spurt. We went from about 200 to 600 members. I’m serving as president this year and this time, there haven’t been too many radical things going on. It’s been going really well.

When I really get to relax and do nothing, my husband and I enjoy just sitting on the porch and overseeing the kingdom. We call my husband the grill master – he’s a great cook and always has been. That’s something we’ve always enjoyed together. During the summertime, it’s nice to just get outside, throw something on the grill and relax.

With old age comes the knowledge of how to relax – that’s really important. I’ve just learned that you can’t do everything well. With my husband being retired, there is a lot he can take care of that I don’t have to, so when I’m not working or doing other things that are part of my schedule, we can really relax. If we want to take a day and run to WinstonSalem, we can do that. We don’t have to worry about what we’re not doing at home. I’ve learned I have to say no to a lot of things and say yes to things that are important for us and for our family. v

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Nena Alsaker