FAMILY HISTORY AND OTHER INTERESTS
Family History
I am the eldest daughter of two: my sister Lisa is four and a half years younger than I am. Although the age gap felt like a lot when we were children, we are both grateful for our strong relationship as adults. We are also close with my parents, Eric and Mary Lou Nordstrom.
Although my parents are both from the middle of Illinois, they met in Racine, WI, where they raised us. My mother is the eldest of a large Roman Catholic family, while my father is the younger son of a two-child Norweigan Lutheran family.
Religion was important in both my parents' homes growing up. My paternal grandfather was a leader in his Lutheran church, and my maternal grandmother was a stalwart in her Catholic church. My mother attended the Unitarian church in our hometown before she met my father. My sister and I were raised in the Lutheran church about two blocks from our home.
Other Interests
I love to dance and I love stories. I also love to write: I periodically have fantasies about writing The Great American Novel. During college I wrote plays, stories, and poems, and even published a few poems in small New York City magazines. After I graduated college, my creative writing energy was funneled into my work, usually in the form of the political essay. I also wrote grants, website texts, and newsletters, but nothing so creative as fiction or poetry. I am thrilled to be back doing work that demands poetry, story, and art.
I also have a long love affair with the theater. As a child, I performed in plays two or three times a year. I trained at the Milwaukee Repetory Theater and acted in my high school's productions. I dreamed of being an actress. By the time I was in college, that dream had already given way to social justice dreams, but I occasionally performed: once in a college production, a few times reading my poetry in Poetry Slams, and one production after college. I still love the theater, but now only from the audience. Live theater holds the special magic of human interaction, and I try to get there as often as I can.
Charlie: the People's Dog
I have already told you about my dog, Charlie, so this section is just an opportunity for gratuitous dog photos. Dog lovers: you are welcome. Non-dog people: go ahead and skip to the next section. I got Charlie from the animal shelter in January of 2013, and he is the best dog ever, in my humble opinion. Below is a photo from when he was a puppy, and to the right is
photo of him in a sweater because he gets cold and also because I am the sort of human who thinks he looks cute in sweaters. Forgive me.
On the Road Again
All my life, I have loved to travel. When I was working in international relations, I was blessed to be able to do it quite a bit. My work took me to Geneva, Switzerland for meetings of the Conference on Disarmament several times a year. I would tack on a few days to those trips and other international business travel and see new parts of the world. I have been to 10 foreign countries on three continents, and have friends in all of them. Each time I travel, the journey changes me. Not only do the people and culture affect me, but travel shifts my habitual mind so that i pay attention differently. Travel is transformation-inducing for me. That said, I have been transforming a lot. Even after I left international relations, I worked in national politics for several years and traveled within the United States about once a month. On the journey of ministry, I have moved a number of times for the work. I love to travel, but right now I am longing for roots. I am ready for a settled ministry, and anticipating staying put for years. This time when Charlie and I head out on the road again, we will be moving to the place we will call home.