About Theresa Boedeker

My name is Theresa Boedeker.

I like to tell stories, write, and laugh, but not necessarily in that order.

I became a storyteller because I enjoy manipulating an audience’s funny bone. I also end up tickling myself into knots at the same time.

As a child, I was not funny. That came quite a bit later. In my teens, dad read aloud the humorous outdoor writer, Patrick McManus. I also discovered Miss Manners and Erma Bombeck. These three broadened and influenced my nonexistent humor horizon a few inches. I began throwing dashes of wit to my family. Often they would gaze at me with questioning and pained expressions. Back then, I was the only one laughing at my stories.

I married a guy who thought most of my humor was funny. Two children joined our family, fifteen years apart. I’ve been making them laugh since they were born. (Well, not the first day; birth was pretty traumatic for them and I was to worn out to come up with any spontaneous quips).

Here are the basics. I’ve been married 29 years. A mother for 28 years. Most recently a grandmother. A teacher of English, literature, and composition for over 14 years. A participant of this beautiful and messy life for as long as I have been alive. And forever, a receiver of God’s grace.

In fifth grade I wrote and illustrated a story about Koalas (their ears are fun to draw). This was the first step towards my writing addiction, which thankfully my husband supports and funds. I majored in English because I love to read and write and my husband said my essays were much better than any he had ever written. I then completed a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (where despite the title, you can not really be as creative as you desire) with a minor in Technical Writing (which yes, has no humor—unless it is the writer imagining the confusion and turmoil the instructions will create in the lives of the readers as they try to follow them).

After graduation, I taught college English and Composition classes, which provided me with a new and captive audience on a regular basis. I like to think they flocked to my classes because they loved my wit, but actually they usually needed the credits to graduate. Grading huge stacks of essays and explaining the basics of writing to young adults hunched down and forward in their chairs, improved my writing skills and taught me to hunt down grammar errors with a skinny red pen.

My writing, fiction and non-fiction, has appeared in over 50 publications. I publish under Theresa Nelson (my married name), Theresa Boedeker (my maiden name), and variations of the two.

My dad, who delivered me at home, because the doctor hadn’t yet returned from his golf game, says my head emerged from the birth canal still in my water sack. My eyes were open and looking around as if I was deciding whether I wanted to join the chaos.

I still look around and notice things.

I started this blog, Things to Remember, to:
1. Encourage and remind readers what is important.
2. Entertain and inspire.
3. Help people laugh at themselves and life’s chaos.
4. Connect readers to God’s daily grace that is sprinkled so liberally throughout life.

I also started a podcast, Life as it Comes, to:
1. Entertain people with funny stories about life and the hiccups it presents.
2. Amuse people.
3. Encourage people to laugh at themselves and life.
4. And because sometimes you just need a smile, perhaps even a laugh.

Welcome to my world! I hope you’ll visit often so we can share some laughs and stay connected on this beautiful and messy journey called life. I will tell you my stories, and you can tell me yours.