With the year ending, I've recently starting reflecting on how I ended up where I am. What shaped who I have become? What will I face in the future that will have an impact on my life?
Below are my life changing moments:
1. This
moment helped shaped my current career:
I remember visiting my uncle in the hospital after a knee
replacement. I was in 6th or
7th grade at the time. His
nurse came into his room to put him into the Continuous Ambulatory Machine to
help with his mobility. She listened to
his heart and lungs and asked if there was anything else he needed. I left that
hospital room knowing that I wanted to be a nurse. Prior to even starting nursing school, I knew
I would want to advance my degree to be a Nurse Practitioner.
2. My
grandfather’s passing: I have been fortunate
that I haven’t lost many close friends or relatives in my 34 years, but the
passing of my grandfather still remains so fresh in my memory. He was the only grandparent I knew. It was one of the first times I can remember
seeing my mother, aunts, uncles and cousins crying. The firing of three volleys still brings
chills to me when I think back to that day.
At a young age, I learned that our days on earth are not limitless;
appreciate each morning you wake up to.
3. Becoming A Mother: This is probably on every parent’s list
because it is, without doubt, one of the biggest life changing moments anyone
can experience. You leave the hospital
with this little bundle of joy, full of mixed emotions. While it is absolutely one of the happiest
moments I have ever had, that quickly gets overshadowed by anxiety and
nervousness; a need to be the perfect mother.
After having a child, you not only learn how to care for someone who is
entirely dependent on you, but you learn a lot about yourself through the
process. If you thought you were the
most patient person, you will quickly realize you are not. You will fail many, many times. You will cry, you may scream, and you WILL be
exhausted. Yet, you’ll never meet anyone
who didn't love being a parent. Becoming a mother or father will definitely change you, your relationship with your spouse and even your relationship with your own parents.
4. Iowa City:
Many things happened during my seven years living in this city and I’m
so thankful I made the choice to get my education there, (much against my
parent’s wishes, probably). In my very
first college class, Rhetoric, I met the sweetest person ever, who became like
a sister to me. I’m so thankful for her
friendship back then and today. Although
Justin and I actually met in Ames, we re-connected in Iowa City during a couple
visits he made to the campus while I was in my first semester there.
5. September 6th, 2011: This was a life changing day for Justin and
I; one of those days where you remember exactly where you were, what you were
wearing and what you were doing. On this
day we heard the news that would shock us to our core. When someone you care for so much is given
this news, your way of thinking changes immediately. Your long to-do list, and many annoyances you
notice in life are forgotten. You forget
about the future and live in the present.
I often find myself thinking otherwise, but just remembering this day
forces me to change my mind set.
6. “There’s Two”:
Seeing two little embryos on the screen would be life changing to
anyone. I remember not knowing how to
react-scream, cry, laugh, faint, swear.
It took about two weeks for it to all sink in and before I had convinced
myself that everything would be OK.
There have been some very challenging moments but those are overshadowed
by the thousands of fun, happy times. I
love being a mother to twins-in fact, it’s sad that many strangers don’t
realize I have twins. (While at soccer
practice with AJ, a mother asked me what the age difference was between my
youngest two. Eleven minutes, I replied,
while staring at her confused look).
7. 26.2 Miles:
Training and finishing a marathon challenges you in many ways. You spend hours and hours running early in
the morning or after the kids go to sleep to help maximize your time with
them. Your Saturday mornings are taken
over by running 10-18 miles each weekend, no matter where you are. You constantly have to be your own coach,
pushing yourself to get through the next mile, ignoring the ache in your knee
or your lungs. You worry constantly
about avoiding injury because how devastating would it be to put in 3 months of
training to not even be able to get to the starting line? During the race itself, you are tested the
entire way. You have to be completely in
tune to your mind, body and soul, placing one foot in front of the others,
using the crowd and cowbells along the way to give you extra strength. Running my first marathon in Des Moines with
my family cheering for me at various places along the route and seeing them at
the finish line was exhilarating. If
you've never experienced crossing the finish line after running 26.2 miles,
it’s impossible to explain the euphoria you feel, (and how challenging walking
down a set of stairs can be days after the race).
What events have influenced your life? Bring on 2015, (but please no more life changing moments for a while!).
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