Family Question #7

Stephenie and I:

What did you want to be when you grew up?

I had no aspirations of anything I wanted to do other than be a mother. I guess I never saw into my future. I was extremely naive and sheltered (?) lol so it never occurred to me that I had a life ahead of me to plan for. What can I say? 🤷🏻‍♀️

I took architectural drafting, in tech school, mainly because I was good at it in high school, and Jeanie took pipeline. I knew I hated pipeline, and I always loved creating, and I could create awesome buildings and homes. So architecture it was. I never finished though, because I moved to south Louisiana when Steve graduated and accepted a job 750 miles away in south Louisiana.

Later, I would have loved being a trauma nurse. I handle emergencies well and had a good head on my shoulders. I had too many kids to go after that dream - and God answers unasked prayers, because it likely would have killed me anyway. I believe God watches out for us in ways we don’t understand.

I have always been extremely organized - I think because that is something I can control - in fact, the only thing in life I can control. Some call it OCD, but I call it organized. My mind does not work in chaos. 

Through the years, I worked for 2 companies; as a medical secretary with a nurses home health care, and at Heilig Meyers. I did well at both places. I started and ended at Nurse’s Home Health Care as a medical secretary. 

I started on the sales floor before our local Heilig Meyers even opened.  We assembled all the floor furniture and displayed it. What a fun job the displaying it was!  I had hired on when the building was still empty as a sales person. Little did I know that we had to fill 50,000 sq ft of space with furniture we assembled!  I can still assemble furniture like a champ! Oh, and the only reason I didn’t stay there forever is because the company went bankrupt, 

BUT, I filed theft charges on the manager of the store and walked out. I had documented everything, collected camera info, found no record of purchase - which would have come through me, and turned it in to corporate. He was arrested, trying to claim I stole the furniture. The house full of furniture, that was at his house, with the BBQ pit he stole as well. I left smiling. He wasn’t happy in handcuffs I heard. The store closed permanently 2 days after I left. It was heartbreaking to us that cared and loved working for a great company. 

I started as a salesman selling furniture, and worked my way up within the company. I became warehouse and procurement manager (different times), refusing collections (bleh), assistant manager, and manager’s positions - the latter would have meant moving. Marvin, my boss loved that I could sell the Furniture Guard well - he assured the rest of the staff that I could sell it on a stainless steel dishwasher!  🤣

They repeatedly asked me at both places to become manager, and at Helig, they wanted me to move to corporate to take over procurement. I couldn’t accept because Steve was prime bread winner. It was nice to feel needed in the higher ranks though.

Anyway, when I was young I always wanted to be a mom, probably because I knew nothing else in my life. Taking care of kids. That is what I accomplished. 

          

                     Jeremy and I:

I get frustrated because ‘only’ being a mom is not worthy of any “attaboys”. It annoys me to no end that people look down on us because we didn’t have a ‘degree’ or ‘really’ ‘work’ for a living, but believe me I worked - and I also took some of their kids to sports, scouts, appointments, and school for those working moms - because I wasn’t good enough to have a job. I helped raise kids that weren’t mine to raise as well. 

                                   Us then:  

                                       Us now:

                                   Them then:

                                     

                                 Two of them now:

      

I cherish each of the children I have been blessed with helping; by blood or by circumstances. I love them all. And I didn’t say “no”, or “I work”, or “I don’t have time”, or “I can’t”, or “we don’t have the money.”

I just did. We did. All of us: my hubby, the kiddos and me. WE did, because they are worth it. And I couldn’t have done some of this without my dear friend Peggy helping get children to appointments. Thank you, thank you, God, for Peggy. And thank you, Peggy, for giving all of you to us. ❤️

So, I feel that I earned my way whether the world thinks I did or not. It was deeply rewarding to me - and that is all that matters in the long run. 

This is a funny: I kept laughing and joking that I had 14 children, but Megan kept correcting me saying I only had 11. Well it sure as heck seemed like 14 at one time! Maybe even 20!  🤣