So you’ve read the about me section. It doesn’t say too much. How, you are wondering, did I decide to write a blog about plants and books? What is the connection? Kind of a niche subject. Well I wanted to combine what I am doing already into something cohesive, and maybe something that someone else might enjoy too. At least I hope you will.
This is the story of me. I’ll try to be brief.
When I was a freshman in high school I took an off campus vocational course called Advanced Ornamental Horticulture. I was a pretty unmotivated student, finding so much more outside of school that interested me. You know like boys and partying. But they made me go, so my two friends who dreamed of one day owning a flower shop talked me into signing up for this course with them. We learned to work in the greenhouse, and design landscaping and fix sprinkler systems…all pretty dull (but useful) for the most part. That winter we had to do an internship at a flower shop. Preceding Valentine’s Day we made hundreds of bows and answered calls and took orders for a week or so.
Fast forward about a year, I’m 16 and looking for a part-time job. I don’t have many skills and no experience…except for that brief internship at a flower shop. So I decide to apply to a local flower shop. I got the job and the manager and assistant manager of that little shop took me under their wings and taught me everything they knew about floral design. I loved it, it was creative, fun and fast paced. I worked there for about two years before moving on, but I now had a skill that I would use the rest of my life. I have now worked at multiple shops as a floral designer, as well as a craft store designing dried and silk flowers over the years. I still even occasionally do flowers for a friend or family members wedding or other special event. I do love flowers. They’ll always have a place in my heart. Oh, and by the way, those two friends who always wanted to own a flower shop together? Well that never happened, in fact neither of them ever even worked in a flower shop after that first Valentine’s day. Just goes to show, we don’t really know what we want when we’re in high school do we?
Fast forward again many years. I became a stay at home mom with two kids for a while. After they both started school, I was getting bored and wanted to find a part time job. A brand new library had just opened up blocks from my house, and as a book lover, I thought that sounded like a great place to work, and applied. Once again the fates looked favorably upon me and I got the job. It was wonderful! I worked with fun, smart, like-minded people. It was always different, every day, busy, challenging and once again, I even got to be a little creative. But after a few years I began to feel that there was more for me. I wanted to go back to school, I wanted to help people beyond just finding them a good book or helping with research papers. I started to look around and see what kind of options might fit me.
Then one day while reading a blog I frequented on natural health, the author mentioned the herb school she attended, in Colorado (yes, herb schools are real!) Hey, I lived in Colorado! It seemed so right. Next thing ya know, I’d graduated from that same herb school two years later, with a certification as a master herbalist. That was the same year my mom died of cancer, which really made me begin to consider the importance of taking care of ourselves everyday, and I felt driven to help people find a way to take charge of their health.
I had since moved to a new library district, where I was excited to take a more active role in children’s programming, readers advisory and teaching classes, and I opened up my own private herbal clinic and apothecary in Northern Colorado. Both my paths kept unfolding together. For a long time I ran my little clinic, working at the public library, and teaching herb classes at a local college and occasionally community gardens and special events.
I have currently put my private practice on hold to go back to school once again. I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in 2020, and will be attending Graduate school to pursue a Master of Public Health in the beginning summer of 2021. You can never learn enough! At the same time, I still work full time at a library. I spend my time at the veterinary hospital library at a major research University, surrounded by books about animals and health and science, and even herbs.
So books and plants really have always been there for me. I just want to share with you what I do, and what I love.
Sheri's Herbs 