PRELLE, CLISTA (TWOREK), GRANTS PASS, OR 97527
Hello, Fellow “76”ers! It has been quite a ride from the “Stairway to Heaven” of prom night, to today! I could never have imagined all that I have experienced on that sweet and naïve evening so many years ago. And I am still climbing that stairway to heaven, as I hope we all are...
So, I followed the usual trajectory...finished a BA degree in Art Education, Minor in Dance. It was in my art, theatre and dance classes that I met my best friend and life partner, Martin Tworek. A true and dear soul mate, and my baby's daddy! I followed him to Oregon, where he completed a Master’s Degree in the interrelationship of costume and choreography at U of O. (Like that would ever earn a living!) But it did! I taught art, painted, and also became a professional florist and continued my loving care of flowers and plants that I have done since a small child, when we lived in Eugene.
Oregon is a wonderland of flora and fauna, and became a playground for us and our son, Lyaksandr (Alek), who came to us in my 27th year of life. We are all three November birthdays, and Alek is one of the greatest blessings of my life! I have endured many strange and bizarre illnesses, and despite this, I gave birth to a perfect and beautiful child. And, like Martin and me, he is an artist! He works as a 3-D “wrangler” in video gaming, creating characters, creatures and various types of flying crafts!
Alek was born in Ashland, Oregon, where we moved after Martin graduated from U of O. He began a 25 year career at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, a world renowned repertory theatre in Southern Oregon. I was an “earth mama” and stayed with our son and gardened and raised puppies and chickens until Alek was ready for school, when I returned to teaching, this time as a Waldorf teacher. Waldorf is a spiritually based, arts oriented curriculum which originated in Europe. This was a perfect fit for me.
After another round of debilitating and ridiculous illnesses in my thirties, I discovered the importance of exercise to my health and well-being and began to rebuild my body, which I had almost lost, again! In my forties, I taught myself to swim (I can do the butterfly!), began hiking, then running in the mountains and hills in Southern Oregon. This began as a promise from my hiking partner that I would find flowers on the Table Rocks. It is true! There is a array of wild flowers in this area, and every year, I follow the blossoms from the valleys to the mountain tops as the spring and summer advance, so that I can see the fields of flowers and the magnificent views! I have always loved chasing wild flowers....ever since my time on the Nebraska prairie as a small girl.
Ever questing after self-fulfillment, I also paint professionally (mostly landscapes and figurative work. You can see some of my art work at clistaspastels.com.) and I have sold pictures of the Rogue Valley and my friends and models. But I realized in my forties, that I had another mission—to help others recover from the effects of PTSD, which had haunted me from childhood, and from which I was able to release myself with the help of wonderful people, (angels, really). I went back to school and earned my master’s degree in mental health counseling, and specialize in the treatment of PTSD and substance abuse. I am currently the clinical supervisor for a residential treatment center for seriously and persistently mentally ill people. I also conduct groups for community outreach in trauma recovery and emotional skills. My work is challenging, and I love it! It also allows me to continue my mission to be an ambassador of beauty, as I work to help improve the quality of life of my clients, and myself.
I also have developed a taste for adventure as my health, strength and independence has increased, in my fifties, no less. I guess I am a late bloomer! I snorkel in the ocean (Maui), sky dive (under my own parachute), paraglide, hang glide (I have a goal on my bucket list to fly every way possible!), seek out natural phenomena all around the world—the aurora in Iceland, the monarchs in Mexico, the phosphorescent ocean of Puerto Rico. And hope to write my memoirs and other kinds of books and stories before my life is over. Time to share the wisdom, yes? I now live alone, and enjoy the company of my dear cat, Mimi.
I hope all of you have led happy and fulfilling lives. There are so many of you I wish I could see again, sit down and chat, and reconnect after all these years. Rest assured, however, that I remember all of you very well, and you all remain in my heart. Here's to forty more years!!! Blessings!
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