Sorry it's been awhile. Summer got really busy and I've got a little lady that keeps growing and wants mama's milk All. The. Time.
School has started, and I now have three in school and three at home!
Leo - Kindergarten
Zoe - 2nd Grade
Jake - 3rd Grade
In Leo's class:
In Zoe's Class:
In Jake's class:
After school shots:
They all had a blast! I'm so excited for those three kiddos. It's going to be a great year!
Which, now, my point of the title, "When I Grow Up."
You see, when Steve asked my dad if he could marry me, (yup, Steve got permission to marry me! How sweet!) my dad made Steve promise him that I would finish my education. Since I was a freshmen in college and all, and my parents never went to college. So that was the deal.
And that was the plan for a while. Steve and I both went to Utah State for one semester. Then I got pregnant with Zoe, and we needed more money for school, I worked until I couldn't anymore. Then we borrowed way too much money in private student loans, and Steve finished school. He was closer to doing so, and since he would be the bread winner, it made sense for him to go to school and get it done first. Plus, we both felt it was my time to stay at home and keep having kids. And I had set a goal to get my teaching degree by the time I was 30.
But, the other part of Heavenly Father's plan, was for me to change my chosen career path. Since 3rd grade, I knew I wanted to teach. Even at a young age, I knew that I wanted to be a high school history teacher. Even then, I couldn't stand little kids. lol!
So, that's what I did, when I went to Western and Utah State. I took a lot of generals and history courses.
But then, I was having kids. And my passion for natural child birth and women's voices in child birthing grew. I wanted a natural child birth with all my kids, but with the first two, things didn't work out. My of OB/GYNs told me what I should do. With Leo, I went natural, but the support I got from the nurses and my Doc, wasn't great. I remember looking for a Midwife in Logan, but there wasn't one there. With Teage, I needed the interventions to get him safely here, and quickly.
Then the most wonderful thing happened. We moved! And to hippie central, Portland, OR! There, I met women that cloth diapered and had midwives. There was a ton of midwives around, and the best school for midwifery around, OHSU. So, with Dexter and Gwen, I had my natural births withe two very wonderful midwives.
That's when I felt my calling. My passion for giving birth and listening to your body grew. I read story after story of friends that had horrible births, I felt myself wanting to be their advocate. I wanted to be there for them and help them with their births.
So, after much thought, prayer, and a few wonderful blessings from Steve, I am going back to school myself. But, instead of becoming a teacher, I'm going to be a midwife. And hopefully, I'll get this done by the time I'm 40! Since I just turned 30 a few weeks ago.
It's a long road ahead of me. A good solid 10 years or more, of schooling. Because, it's been about 8 years since I went to school, I feel like I need to better my grades from all those years ago. And refresh my memory in math.
I want to go to school full time, but who knows. I'll be relying heavily on what the Lord feels is best for me. And I still have one more child left in Heaven to bring into this world.
My plan is this:
Generals done by August 2015
Nursing Degree done by December 2018
BSN degree done by June 2020
MN/DNP (Nurse-Midwife/Doctor of Nursing Practice) done by June 2023
Throw in one more kid, kids still at home until maybe 2019, and I'll need to work as an RN in Labor and Delivery for at least a year before I start at OHSU.
It's a huge goal. Overwhelming at times. And who knows, I might have to finish school at another university if we move (I hope not, I LOVE IT here!).
Steve gave me a wonderful blessing on Tuesday night. Promising me that the Lord wants this for me. That this is His plan for me.
Never before have I felt so strongly that that this is what my calling is suppose to be. An advocate for women. To help them where there is sometimes no help.
I can't help but think, that I needed to have most of my babies before I really knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. I have so much passion and drive. I know I can do this. Besides becoming a mother, I have never wanted anything like this before.
So, wish me luck. I'm going to need it. And say a few prayers for me too. My math is super rusty, and I'm not the best at English (if you couldn't tell).
Cheers!
3 comments:
Awesome Sara! Good luck!!
So Awesome!! Good luck!! If I ever go back to school being a midwife is one thing I would love to do as well!! I'm actually going to do a home birth with this baby and I'm so excited! I can't wait to hear your stories and experiences in school in the years to come.
Good for you Sara! I'm so glad you have a confirmation for the direction you are taking for your future. That is such a great field to get involved in and the passion for it makes all the difference for the good you will do.
It will be interesting to see how this path runs. We can look at the predicted course we set out on and set a plan and a timeline and often that is what comes to pass. And also often God has little intersections and side paths planned that end up taking us in unexpected directions. He doesn't tell us the whole path at any point, but continues to guide at the bumps and construction detours and cross roads and unexpected scenic opportunities to get us where it is he really wants us to be. Whatever it is, the outcome always turns out to be better than figuring it all out and traveling the path by ourselves.
I'm really glad to see you not letting yourself be limited by long held goals and past history but able to be open to new directions.
Now if I could just figure out what I want to be when I grow up! (I did consider being a doula at one time, and did some childbirth coaching for friends and thought about doing that for pay, but couldn't reconcile the on-call nature of it with caring for a family.)
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