Jennette Florian Everett

I believe you can tell a lot about a person by who they love and what they spend their time on this earth doing.

I love my family, first and foremost. My parents live in Bastrop on a lake (about 45 minutes away from me) and I spend every weekend that I can there (at least I did before the pandemic and hope to regain that normalcy soon). It's a peaceful place and spending quality time with people I love is the best way to spend my day. I'm a certified foster mom. I've had 5 foster children live with me over the last 5 years. I hope to love more foster kids in the future. Thankfully I still get to see my first foster son (pictured on the right) once every few months and I absolutely cherish our time together. It is never long enough, but super special that I can still play a role in his life. It's unusual for a foster mom to be able to continue the relationship after the child leaves so I will be forever grateful for this relationship. He brings such a joy to my life.

I am lucky enough to have 2 sisters (Pictured on the right.)  My older sister Buffy lives in Florida with her husband and my favorite nephew. She's a high school English Teacher. My younger sister Emily is a missionary with the Methodist Church and is currently serving in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. She's my inspiration for learning portuguese. I've been giving myself daily lessons for over 2 years now through Duolingo! I cannot wait to go down and visit her to practice my language skills. Our time together as sisters is never long enough. We always have the best time and I wish they lived closer to me. I would love to play a more active role as Auntie Jenny to my wonderful nephew. For now, I just have to be happy with FaceTime and our normal summer visits (which didn't happen in 2020). I'm looking forward to the next time we are all together.

I love my cats. My 3 cats are like children for sure and they sure brighten every day that I get to be with them. In the picture to the right: Nico, Dom & Mia (Named after Fast & Furious characters)

I love to take photos.  I've always been a photographer.  I love the way a photo can capture a memory.  Each year, I take the time to create myself a yearbook of my life..."A Year in Photos." I've been doing this annually since 2009 and before that I did it sporadically. I include as much detail as possible. Once I get the printed book, I then share it with family and friends and ask them to sign it just like a yearbook. It's created a special legacy to look back on my life.

I love watching movies. I have a standing movie date with good friends on Tuesday night to go see whatever is playing at the local theater. I enjoy all types of films except horror. My dad and I love to see action movies together and it's our tradition to see the new Fast and Furious movies together on opening night.

I love to travel. As of last count, I've been to 44 countries around the world. My favorites so far have been Ethiopia, Ireland, Greece and Brazil. I have a tradition when I travel, whether it is local in Texas or whether it is overseas, of writing postcards to my friends back home. I love the art of writing a postcard and I love knowing that it's going to bring a smile to the faces of my friends and family when they open their mailbox to a postcard. If they can't  travel with me, then they are very likely to be getting a postcard.

I love listening to good music. Some of my favorite artists are: Michael Franti, Tyrone Wells, Keb' Mo, The Head and the Heart, NEEDTOBREATHE and The Moody Blues. I love going to see live music particularly with my family because we love to dance. After working in the music industry for many years, I can appreciate the huge talent that it takes to be a musician and I'm in awe of people who have that talent.

I love playing games. Whether it's a board game like parcheesi or a card game like Canasta, I'm all in. I love family game nights. We mostly enjoy playing Mexican Train, Rummicube or Hand/Foot Canasta.

I love spending time with friends I've made over the years from all over the world. My grandmother taught me that to be in a relationship with someone you have to relate to them. I work very hard to maintain my friendships and keep in touch with people. I think it's important to put time and energy into all your relationships.

Lastly, I love my work. I've been lucky enough to have had 4 amazing jobs over the last 20 years of my life and I've loved each one (for different reasons). I dedicate my time and energy into whatever it is that I do for a living. In the past, I've been called a workaholic but the truth is I just love what I do. If you love what you do, then it really isn't work, is it?

"The last whispered wish of age is to live it all again.
So never blame the rainbows for the rain." 
~The Moody Blues