Member Spotlight: Nora Rehtse, Austin

A little about me...

I was born in Mexico and at 15 we migrated to Montrose CO. My father had visited the area and fell in love with the landscape and the water abundance..and since we were living in the desert part of Mexico, water was very much appreciated. I made Colorado my home for 20 years. I Graduated from Montrose HS, and attended Western State College in Gunnison. What I miss the most about Colorado it's its night skies. I had two kids born in Colorado, Fernando 23 and Xcaret 19. When we moved to Texas 10 years ago the big shock was the heat and the public schools; Colorado is always pushing kids to be outdoors, and appreciate Mother Nature at its best, so sports were always part of our lifestyle, kids take skiing and snowboarding classes from school, there's always a class in a semester dedicated to sport learning, like bowling, pool, camping, lambing season (tending to lambs in March-April: encourages kids in elementary school grade to learn how to attend to lambs, baby lambs, lamb anatomy, and to conclude the class, a tasty lamb meal).

Something people may not know about me is...

I grew up in Colorado not knowing the language, or culture, even though I was born across the border from El Paso, TX, the English I knew was not enough to save my life if i needed it. I learned how to swim when I was a senior in HS, I continue to have a fear for water, but I knew I needed to learn to swim and I enrolled myself in swimming class, which was actually the high school swim team. There was 3 of us that didn't know how to swim, and I thought to myself "what i am doing is for me, to help me, I won't care what the swim team thinks of my doggy paddle strokes!" . And so, i learned to swim, loved to dive off the board, even though it took me half a semester to conquer that fear, i learned to love it. I broke away from an abusive man, my children's father. Raising children alone, I realize now it was much harder than what I remember living through it. I had to make all the decisions, and all the consequences of those decisions. Always busy, always in a hurry. I regret I didn't take the time to appreciate more of those moments and laughters. I treasure the picture i took of their childhoods because those are the reminders of those moments with my kids, otherwise everything is just a blur. My focus was to raise them, to be good people, and in the process I forgot to enjoy them. I don't consider myself feminist, but the one feminist thing I did was to change my name to represent me, because I am myself, without the help of anyone, not my birth family whom hurt me and my kids, and certainly not a man. I changed my name because I wanted it to represent me. So I kept my first name, and inverted my middle name Esther, now I am simply Nora Rehtse.

In my free time...

I enjoy seeing my kids, hearing them talk and laugh, seeing them so close and dependent on each other. I enjoy taking long walks at the park, with our dog Skylar. I enjoy cross stitching, I am currently working on a horse. I love horses. The one thing I enjoy the most is charity. About once or twice a year I gather stuff and take it to needy people in Mexico. I haven't had a chance to do it this year, but last year, all summer I gathered school supplies and toys (at the stores or yard sales) and loaded my SUV and took it to poor kids in Mexico. There's no greater satisfaction than to see their smiles. This year I wanted to do a bathroom theme and gather towels, toiletries, pajamas and sleepers. I didn't get too much, and traveling isn't recommended right now, but maybe by next year I can fulfill this goal. 

My biggest takeaway from being a part of iGnite is...

iGnite means more to me than a workout gathering. Its therapy for my soul and for my mind: learning to love myself. iGnite has been the light to my dark state of mind. I love everyone in class. Everyone is so loving and non-judgmental, welcoming and simply amazing.

If I could go back in time, I would see and do...

Jesus' baptismal on the Jordan river. To witness the moment the heavens open and the voice of God speaks to Jesus for everyone to hear, that would be amazing.  My second spot would be the French Revolution, to watch the fall of the unimaginable, to watch that everything is possible. The French Revolution changed the world in my opinion. Thirdly, look at Earth from the moon, what a sight that would be.

If I could work anywhere I would....

work inside the Vatican, reading all those ancient archives, and on my way to work, admire all the art around it and inside it. Growing up I wanted to be a nun.  I wanted to serve and love without limits or prejudice. 

What I've learned over the year is...

there's always a lesson to be learned in everything and everyone we encounter. Learn and grow from it-- and always strive to make the best of any circumstance.