• Born the seventh of seven in Greenwich, Conn., to Reg and Nancy Pierce. Greenwich moms used to come hang out in our laundry-ridden living room just because it was "so cozy!"
• Age six, moved to Etna, N.H., so my parents could pursue what many thought to be a radical idea of buying a country inn with a ski school. They called it "Pierce's Inn." We were swept out of a place where we had playgroups with future debutantes, to a place where we rode the bus with kids who stole our family car. Consolation: we learned to ski on the rope tow in the backyard.
• Age seven to ten, thought I was Harriet the Spy. Used to sneak around the inn, listening, peering, and recording every foul word and dirty phrase my big brothers and sisters would sling. Taught all my friends the meaning of every one of them. (Yep, I was THAT kid!) Naturally, my evenings were spent spying on all the guests, the beginning of my human study. Learned so much that I am still processing it to this day.
• As a young teen, due to my late development and tomboy qualities, I had 'dual citizenship' with the boys and the girls. When out in public, regularly got kicked out of girls' bathrooms, but never out of boys'. Go figure.
• Attended Hanover High School. Had so much spirit that my soccer teammates forgave me for a season-ending handball in the penalty area. Being loud took a certain devotion. Even though I didn't drink or do drugs (still don't), I never let that get in the way of acting blissfully nutty.
• I attended UNH where I graduated in the top 100% of my class, and as a ski racer and soccer player, parlayed my big mouth and sass (versus any particular skill or talent), into elected positions as captain of both teams. Paid $80/month rent in a house full of men, rats and occasional snowdrifts. Majored in theater and graduated in 1988.
• After college, went directly for the big bucks and became a ski coach. Learned to hold my own with a sense of humor in a male-dominated world even when using the men's room with my first boss (...long story). Suffice to say, urinal mints cannot be used as hand soap.
• Taught first grade in Norwich, Vt., for six years where I was reminded of the importance of holding onto my playful spirit by six-year-olds. Highlights include: rescuing monarch butterflies from the fluorescent lights, unhinging a child's belly from the ring of her notebook, covertly repairing my bra's escaped underwire, and keeping the lesson plan rolling around it all.
• As the current innkeepers of Pierce's Inn and parents of three young children, my husband and I have found new meaning to digging deep. We juggle the tasks of hosting guests, wiping rear ends, keeping the books balanced, playing Legos, cleaning toilets, and helping with art projects — all while keeping one eye on the oven and the other eye on the kid chaos index. Come see us at Pierce's Inn in Etna where the laughs, as always, are on us.
• Hugely devoted fan of The New England Patriots.