Your Path......

There is a path set out for everyone. Your life is what it is today because of a series of experiences, people and hardships. We may never know the reason why many things happen but all are put before us for a reason.
My own path is no different. When I think about it, I am thankful for the good and bad.......


I have worked with a number of supervisors and leaders in my work. Some good, some quite blind. I had one leader in my life that taught me more about my abilities than any other. She was funny, smart and brutally honest. When I met her I never thought I would come away with all I did. She would call me out and then in the same breath make me feel like I could do anything. There were chances I took in my career and life because of her. Not all of them were what I expected, but what matters is that I would not have taken those chances if she had not seen a light in me and believed in me. She taught me to be a leader and what a leader takes. She showed me that there were sacrifices and hardships to being a leader but inspired me to know that the payout of leadership can be remarkable change.

The death of my father was another defining moment in my life. We all question "why" these things happen. But what I found is that it is OK to let go and sometimes by letting go you are showing that you blindly trust that "why". He taught me that a good dirty joke could ease a situation like no other awkwardness. By letting go, it's not the end. I see my father everyday in different ways. In my humor and the humor that my children have now. And in my daughter.....ever since she was 2, whenever she sees a white butterfly, she says "there's grandpa".....I have no idea where this comes from, she doesn't remember her grandpa but it's beautiful.

My children's birth taught me about spirituality. My sense of something greater than me was reinforced ten-fold. I feel there is simply no other way to explain the birth of a child.


As a CPS worker I was blessed to work with people who taught me about the human spirit. I met people who were at their lowest points in their life. The were addicted to drugs or alcohol so bad that their life was run by the poison.... They were broken because they had so much going on in life that wasn't positive that they finally snapped and hit their child....... They were so mentally ill that they were misunderstood in society and decided to simply "fit the part" and give up on their search for meaning.

What I took away from everyone was that we all have the possibility to be in those situations. I NEVER met a person who said....I love my addiction as I watch my family fall apart......It was OK to hit my child......or being mentally ill and feeling that stigma everyday is good.


And finally, being a military wife has taught me more about myself and marriage than anything else. The lessons have been constant and about selflessness, giving and service. I learned that you just get the job done. Ryan and I have learned to completely surrender to one another. He has no other choice but to surrender and trust me with raising and caring for our family here and I have no other choice but to surrender and trust that he will serve his country loyally, but safely.