I grew up in Upper Arlington, Ohio, with two younger sisters and two younger brothers. By the time I was in 4th grade, I knew I wanted to be a teacher.  After attending Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and student teaching inner-city 3rd and 4th graders, I moved to the Philadelphia area with my husband, Patrick. Many teachers had just been laid off at that time so I went to a Business and Accounting school, and worked in Undergraduate Admissions at the University of Pennsylvania. I rode a train into the city right up until our first child, Peter, was born.  A brother, Mike, joined him two years later, and I stayed at home with the boys for quite a long time. Nursery school, playgroup, kids’ choir, library story hour, swimming and music lessons as well as endless housework made that time period pass really quickly. Later, our daughter, Julie, was born and when she was three, I started subbing in the schools and taught Pre-K. That was an enjoyable time – being both at home and in the schools.