Born & raised in the small southwestern town of Albuquerque, New Mexico,
I was one of eleven children with two hard working parents. My mom,
Nereide Frances Padalino Sherwood is a
full-blooded Italian (born and raised in Italy), and dad was a Texan,
which made for quite an eventful home life.
I
married in 1985 and for 12 years, my husband, J.C. and I traveled with a
Christian Bible and music group. I sang with another couple and J.C. was
the preacher. Both couples had three (3) kids, and we both home-schooled
them so we could take them on the road with us. We had the opportunity
to travel all over the state of New Mexico, as well as many other
throughout this great nation. We climbed into a 15-seater van and hit
the road, learning some valuable things about people life and each
other.
We
experienced many exciting things, saw incredible landmarks and
landscapes and met the most intriguing people. We were experiencing real
Americana. There were disappointments as well, but they were
overshadowed by the highlights:
Like
the time in Guyana, South America, we had to meditate ourselves into a
complete stillness and peace, just to be able to fall asleep in the
unbelievable heat, with no fan or air conditioning. Or the time we began
singing in the town square in Tirgu Mures, Romania, and watched as a
crowd of hundreds gathered. And the unforgettable times of just driving
in the van across country as the kids, arms and legs flung in every
direction, slept silently and I looked dreamily out the window. Ten
years holds much memory, and growth.
In
1999, we moved the family to Houston, Texas to open and pastor a
non-denominational church. We had it all figured out and knew exactly
how everything would work. We had a vision! That is all you need, right?
Wrong! We learned and we grew, but it was not easy.
In 2005, through
much prayer and discernment, we made a decision bringing big change to
our lives. After 5 years, we closed the church and entered back into
the workforce. It was not an easy decision, but we have had no regrets.
At this point, the kids had grown and were off living their dreams.
J.C. started a home-based marketing and design firm,
which is very successful. It quickly became apparent, after opening the
business, that he needed help to sustain the growth and continue doing
what he was best at - marketing and graphic design! So after 30 years of
developing and managing operations and customer relations for other
companies, I went to work with him. Not many married couples work well
together, but we do, and we thoroughly enjoy it! Every now and then, I
get an inkling to get back in “the game,” but for now this, is where I
am.
As for the direction of our lives . . . this is not the
final stop. Our hearts are still full and there are many more
interesting and quirky people to meet and know. We keep moving forward
and looking upward. Who knows, maybe one day we’ll see you in your town!
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New circles are articles offering others a glimpse into your own private
world. They are submissions by readers from around the world, friends of
Extended Circles and colleagues.
If you would like to
share your back-story - your own personal circle - with other people from
different backgrounds and walks of life, please do! Make it interesting,
short and concise, and be sure to include how you have worked in your life to
extend your circle. If you are new to extended circles, let us know your
plan for awakening your spirit to the world around you!
Click here
to submit your story.
Please keep it to about 500 words, and be advised that all submissions are
subject to editing for content or relevancy. If we publish your story on
the website, we may request
a photo and/or contact/link information to add to the page. Be sure
to include your correct contact information (which will be held in strict
confidence). If we do
not publish your story, we will do our best to inform you in a timely manner,
and offer tips / hints for further submissions. We look forward to broadening
our horizons by getting to know you! Thanks for submitting!
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