Life and Family: I sold the farm in 1997 after Ben (now 30, wedding set for 9/27/08) and Nate (now 28)
graduated from high school. I sold the horses the following year, and in 2000 learned how to ride a motorcycle,
with the support of Jim, the great guy I married the same year. He has two lovely married daughters, Jennifer and
Jodi, and all the kids get along well, as they never had to live under the same roof together and/or share a
bathroom. I am now a (step) grandma to Avery (3) and Abbie (1), Jennifer's girls, and it is the best gig ever. I
have been blessed with kind and healthy children, all of whom have jobs with benefits and don't live with us. I am
privileged to be in my fifteenth year on the bench in Polk County Juvenile Court and witness to successful efforts
at systemic improvements. I have also had the good fortune to be invited to speak at professional confrences
throughout the country.
Next 10 Years: I will transition to senior judge status in five years, working 13 weeks per year. As much as I
love the work, it will be very okay to have less of it. We intend to snowbird in Austin, Texas, where Ben and Nate
plan to stay. Des Moines is great, but not so much in January and February. I hope to have a lot more
grandbabies to rock and spoil. Jim and I want to travel more and enjoy good health.
Favorite Memories: Friends most of all, of course...all the laughter, tears and drama; the wonderful cocoon of
safety we enjoyed and the confidence it gave us to navigate more turbulent times. Cheerleading, Wigwam,
student government, HELP Tutoring at Westminister Church; Mr. Burns undoing my algebra PTSD by making
geometry make sense; buzzing the strip with Harriet Stern who would duck when she was shotgun to make me
look like a loner; and finally mastering the spring clutch on our '64 Vette (which my dad drove in the Veteran's
Day Parade in 2005, just weeks before he died). TR/IBC at Rinaldi's....and there wasn't a day in my law school
career that I wasn't grateful for Miss Patterson's Latin class.
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