The Beginning of a Journey

Where did I come from? Where am I going? Where do I start?

I used to work as a Behavioral Specialist Consultant.  I worked with kids who had emotional and behavioral problems.  I really enjoyed specializing in kids with autism or ASD.  I did this for 8 years after graduating with my Masters in Counseling.  When I started, I honestly didn’t know much about autism, but I learned from trainings and working in the field.  By the end, I really enjoyed my work and to be honest I was pretty good at it.  Sometimes it was tough.  I don’t miss the days of tantrums – being hit, kicked, scratched, and spit on by clients.  I definitely don’t miss phone calls the day I get back from vacation giving me 15 minutes to go out and remove all weapons from a home and put a safety plan in place for a potentially homicidal client.  I don’t miss getting hit on the head by clients much larger than me that result in concussions, a neck injury and migraines that I’m still recovering from 3.5 years later.  I don’t miss phone calls about clients running off of school property or sending school staff to the hospital with injuries.  My job was a big part of my life for 8 years.  Tantrums, aggression, bolting, potentially violent clients…it all became normal, just part of the job.  It became less stressful the more I learned.  Deescalating situations became second nature.  Watching clients progress was rewarding, worth the hard work and extra effort.  They deserved it, and so did their families.

However, while I was working that job, I was waiting.  Waiting for something big.  Waiting for a child.  Waiting to become a mother.  It was a long painful process of infertility and adoption to say the least.  So now I find myself in a very different place.  A place my husband and I dreamed of for years.  We have a family, and I’m able to stay home with our baby boy.  Something we both wanted for our family.  So now what?  What does that mean for me?  What does that mean for our family?  Well, it’s the beginning of a whole new journey.  I guess it’s kind of like my last job.  I feel prepared, but a learning curve is projected.  I’ve never been in this position.  There seem to be so many possibilities and new opportunities.  Where to start? Where to focus?  It is definitely the beginning of a new journey.  I don’t know what’s in store or what will happen along the way.  But it brings up a question that I think needs to be answered before starting the journey.  So…

Who Am I?

It such a simple question, only 3 words, yet the answer is much more complex.  Well, I am a Catholic woman, wife, mother, friend, minimalist, and reader who was born in Texas, who considers herself to be authentic and objective, and wants to become better at all of these things.  That’s the simple answer.  It’s a bit of a mouthful, but it’s a start.  I guess it’s complexities will have to be revealed along the way.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. ~ Psalm 139:13