My Supports

February 8, 2012

                As I begin each and every day, I meditate and pray about the blessings in my life and the gift that the new  day is.   My faith truly supports me through good times and difficult times.  Moving on in the day, I feel blessed to have many people that support me personally, socially and professionally.  First and most in importance is my husband of 40 years.  Gene is there for me no matter what. When I come home after an unusually stressful day, he provides comic relief when it is most needed.  We are a good example of the old adage that opposites attract.  His laid back personality balances my somewhat intense personality. He provides the calm support I need when I allow things to get to me on a personal or professional level and really helps me remember what is really important when I lose sight of that.  My sister also provides support personally and professionally.   As a Family Therapist, she shares her professional expertise with me when I have situations that are difficult.  She is a good listener, a trait I’m sure she mastered as part of her many years in the therapy field.  She knows how to support me without making me feel like I’m a client.  My adult children and their spouses also provide support.  Even though we all live in different states, we work at keeping that family bond strong. 

                Socially I have a group of friends that share common interests and family values.  Several have been part of my life since high school over 40 years ago. The support they provide is as diverse as they are.  I have friends that are 15 years older than I am that share the wisdom they have gained over the years.  I have other friends that are 15 years younger than me that keep me current. 

                Professionally, I feel very fortunate.  Working for a relatively large organization provides support on all levels.  It is something I didn’t experience when I was self-employed as a Family child Care provider for many years.  When I need guidance on personnel issues, I consult our Human Resources department. When I need help with fiscal matters, I rely on the Business office to provide me what I need.  For day to day guidance and support, I have a supervisor who shares my same passion for early childhood education.

                As I think about all of the components of my personal and professional life, I realize having a network of support that meets each special aspect of my life is essential.  While I consider myself to be a self-sufficient person in many ways, I also know what my limitations are and feel fortunate to have the support in my life that I have.

                As I thought about a specific challenge, what came to mind is actually something currently looming over me.  Professionally, I am at a crossroads in my career.  Currently I work for the organization that is contracted to provide Head Start services for our county.  There is an opportunity to change that due to recent changes in Head Start structure. I am faced with the possibility of writing a competitive grant that would make our organization the direct service provider instead.  The task of evaluating how we do things currently and adjusting and improving our operations to offer a more efficient way of running the program is daunting.  I am able to begin the process with the support of my colleagues who have the expertise in those areas where I don’t.  It would be very difficult for me to complete this task without them.  Finding the time to do it all would be a challenge in and of itself.  In terms of my personal life, the support I have within my family plays a huge part in my being able to focus on work when I need to,

                As I look ahead, the next few months will be challenging both personally and professionally.  I learned a long time ago that it is difficult to not have one impact upon the other.   I am grateful for having solid support in all aspects of my life.  I know I can look to them moving forward.