Hello, my name is Karen and I was born in Chinon, France at a US Army hospital. I grew up in NY on Long Island. I now live in a small town in Washington state near Tacoma. I have lived in NY, DC, Georgia, Landstuhl Germany, and mostly in Washington state. What makes me smile is observing and receiving kindness and love. My children enjoying each others company, my husband laughing and chatting, the camaraderie of the groups I belong to- my church and my fellow Girl Scout leaders. Even noticing random strangers being kind makes me smile. I try to smile at everyone I meet because you just never know what they are going through. The life lessons I have learned in my 50 plus years are many, too many to share. Be kind to others and yourself, BE yourself, don't worry (as much as possible), life will go on, you will survive. I will have to think on this some more. My deepest fear is losing my loved ones but most especially my husband and children. I can not even think about that. My biggest dream is to be able to travel the US and the world and photograph and somehow share this with others so that all may know how very much alike we all are. Just reading the comments from all over the world right here on this post shows this. It's an amazing thing to realize that despite looks and language and lifestyle so many of us truly just want kindness and love and good health! I am a daughter,sister, wife, mother, dietitian, Girl Scout, volunteer, reader, eater, photographer, scrapbooker, a lover of life. Thank you for reading my story! This was written in response to a blog post on this website. I was so inspired by reading others posts from all over the world that I shared my own story. I hope you will share your story too! http://www.marcandangel.com/2013/08/13/one-question-you-should-ask-everyone-you-meet/