Julianna Buller | Red Dirt Chronicles

At the end of this post, you’ll find a photo of Julianna. She was one of my students during her undergraduate years.

She then decided to serve her internship in Oaxaca, Mexico doing really cool work for an important program that served needs in that area.

Then she became a marriage and family therapy student; I filled in as Interim Clinical Director for that program over the course of a few months. I also supervised the students for about two years while they grew into new professional therapists.

Then I began working with her side by side in order to provide a portion of the services provided in couples retreats for vulnerable and stressed populations.

Then she became one of our RDC contributors, writing a series called the “Not So Newlyweds.” Julianna is an excellent writer. She’s better than me when it comes to constructing sentences, form, consideration of her subject, etc. I love it that she’s a stronger writer than I…it makes our blog a better project.

So today, I was looking across the room at what is now my eighth year of providing couples services at these retreats, and there she was – looking over the first file and preparing for her session.

Julianna is a strong, beautiful and thoughtful woman…and I feel happy and sentimental to have watched her grow into that person.

Julianna – you’re extra cool. And I just wanted you to know that I think so.

[kelly]

by Julianna Buller

As we wound our way deeper into the canyons near Cañon City, Colorado, I asked my husband what had been his favorite part of vacation so far. “Because you’re going to totally forget how much you loved it once you’ve white water rafted,” I explained. I had a hunch the fireworks we had appreciated so much would become a distant memory once we had experienced a few Class V rapids.

We arrived and, donned with helmets and life jackets, received a brief training about how to anchor our feet into the inflated raft to help us follow the Most Important Rule: Stay in the boat. As flatlanders better versed in back pasture mud holes than raging rivers, we grew concerned about the actual statistical probability of ending up wearing the raft as a hat, which our guide so humorously cautioned as a possibility. Nonetheless, we waded into the Arkansas River, jumped aboard, and began our journey.

As we approached our first rapid, a Class IV, the excitement and apprehension was palpable by everyone except the guide, whose five years of leading trips had probably worn some of the emotion from the experience. Listening to the commands (Forward one! Forward two!), we easily traversed the roiling mass of water, our giddiness intact—if not increased—by the challenge. Once past the breaking current, we breathed easily, and rounds of high-fives were had by all.

The first Class V rapid we took on was a different experience entirely. Continue reading Not-So-Newlywed Adventures →

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