The Journey begins

How I got here…. no, not my entire life story, just some information about me and my journey returning to higher education.

I started taking classes toward my bachelors degree in Business kind of on a dare from a former boss and before being a mom. That adventure took 9 years - with breaks following my daughters birth, a miscarriage, fertility treatments and special education evaluations. Although the journey was long, the sense of pride upon completion was HUGE!

Following graduation in 2001 I sought new employment challenges, leaving a job after 14 years. Life lesson - things are not always as they are promised when you are being recruited. So, a short 18 months later, I joined they many seeking employment.

I was fortunate to find a position within a short time at the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) - did you know there was such a thing? Did you know it is located in Columbus? I have been given many opportunities at the NREMT and currently serve as the Community Relations Coordinator. One motivation to seek additional education is to learn new skills which will assist me in developing new skills to use in my position. Another is that I truely enjoy the adult learning environment.


Some additional background, so you can get to know me and have some insight into my life. I met my husband while in high school, a mutual friend introduced us - we went to different schools. I first met him in the basement of a fire house and during our first date, I stood in the rain and watched a barn burn down. Hmmm.... maybe I should have reconsidered then - just kidding. This journey has been going on for 23 years now and more often than not it has been great. Being married to a friend makes any adversity bearable (including health, family matters, employment or financial). My husband is currently a Lt. with the Columbus Division of Fire and is an EMS Supervisor/Paramedic. Thus, we are kind of in the same business - later posts will provide you with more on this subject, which sometimes can be lively.

We were married almost 9 years when our daughter arrived (we had lots of fun 'practicing'). When she was about 12-18 months we noticed she was not meeting traditional milestones for toddlers. We have a wonderful pediatrician who continues to support us through this journey and guide us through the maze of emotions and testing. However, and depending on how you look at it, fortunately or unfortunately we have no traditional diagnosis for her. She is not a lot of things (Downs, Cerebral Palsy, Fragile X, Autistic, etc.) but she is not a "typical" child either. We choose to see this as fortunate as it gives us opportunities to try lots of things to assist her. Most of her delays seem focused on motor planning and sensory deficits. She works very hard to get her body to do what most of us take for granted as "natural" - walking a straight line, put a sentence together using more than 6 words, quickly reacting to a stimulus, signing a document/fine motor skills.

Having a special needs child makes you appreciate the smallest of successes - things that many parents often take for granted - watch for stories that continue to make me beam with pride.

For this entry: she recently told me "I'm proud of you" and when I asked her why, she "you are going to Franklin to be a good learner". I will try to remember her words when I get discouraged along my journey. She reminds me each time she sees a Franklin commercial that I go there "again".

Enough for now - I look forward to meeting everyone and invite you to join me on this journey, I think it is going to be an interesting odyssey.