FEATURE
Curley, a former teacher and a talented
potter, makes beautiful pieces that fill up
their home in Nyack, New York, a cool,
artsy town north of the city, on the Hudson
River. “He made all of our dishes, and he
likes to collect other potters’ work, too,
so our pots have pots,” she said. She has
two daughters, Hannah, 19, a sophomore
at UCLA and Amelia, 17, a senior in high
school, who is currently applying to college.
Aside from working, she says most of her
and John’s time is taken up with parenting
teenagers—no easy feat!
“The dirty little secret in my family was
that I never took my kids to Disneyland or
Disney World; even though their grandma
lived like two hours away, we never went.
But, instead they’ve been all over Europe
and to Asia twice or three times. They’ve
even been biking along the Mekong Delta.”
For their 16th birthdays, Karen and John
gave each of her daughters the option of
having either a big party or a big trip. “One
daughter chose Thailand and the other chose
India, so, I guess I’ve successfully passed
my passion for traveling onto them.” The
family plans to spend Christmas vacation
this year in Cambodia and Hong Kong.
She believes that everyone should have
a chance to see the world. “I think it’s really
important,” she said. “First of all, it’s fun.
Karen’s heart. “I absolutely loved Vietnam;
And, the food, and the shopping, the wonder,
I loved Thailand. Singapore is awesome,
and everything that you see when you travel
especially the food scene there. They have
is just really enriching. But it also kind of
these hawker centers, where there are all
shows you your place in the world and you
of
these little mini-kitchens/food stalls and
really develop a much greater appreciation
each
vendor specializes in one or two dishes.
and gratitude for what you have… I think it
And they even have Michelin-stars! It’s like
makes you smarter.”
the only place that has Michelin-rated street
“We also like to cook, and we cook
food
vendors.”
together a lot,” she said. “As often as we can,
almost every night, we sit down together to
TAKING TIME TO FEEL GOOD
have a family meal.” And, thankfully, their
“It’s great exercise and you’re also
appetites are as daring as their travels. “We
learning something… it makes me feel
eat everything, and I’m proud of that. I
empowered.”
feel like we’ve done a good job with our
kids because they’re happy to have Korean
One of the biggest buzz words for
barbecue one night and octopus another—
everyone
right now, especially for women
they’re very adventurous in their eating.”
in leadership roles, is “self-care,” taking
Karen and John like to experiment with
time for yourself to recharge, refocus, and
different cuisines from around the world,
cultivate your own passions. Despite her
whether they’re shopping at local markets
busy schedule, Karen makes time for herself
or eating out. “We have a large Korean
on the mat, where she does Thai-style
community near us, so we try to go to the
kickboxing and karate. She has spent 10
place where the people don’t speak English
years practicing Kempo karate, a form of
and the menu is not in English; we always
martial arts that uses quick, powerful strikes
know it will be good.”
When it comes to favorite food and travel, and is powered by rapid stance transitions,
called “shifting.” Currently a fourth-degree
Southeast Asia holds a special place in
Karen at an
elephant
orphanage in
Chiang Mai,
Thailand
black belt, she is working on her fifth degree.
She laughs noting that, technically, it was
her daughters who got her into it. “When
they were younger, I signed them up for
classes because my dream was that they
would become strong girls, who could
defend themselves. But I had to argue
with them and really force them to go, so
when they were red belts, they told me
they wanted to quit.” But while watching
them practice, Karen was recruited by the
Sensei, who encouraged her to give it a try
and offered her a free month’s membership.
“And so I tried it and I just got hooked. I
love it. It’s not only great exercise, but
you’re also learning something. It’s not just
like aerobics class. It has the intensity of
aerobics but your brain is really working,
too.” For her, it’s a stress reliever as well
as a social outlet, where she’s made some
lasting friendships. Most importantly, it
makes her feel good about herself. “I don’t
know that I could ever really defend myself
if I had to, but at least it makes me feel like
I could. Every time I practice, I feel just a
little bit stronger and more empowered than
I did before, and that’s really motivating.” FN
Issue 3, 2018 | FRAGRANCENOTES.ORG | 11