Life Defining Event – Why I Am Who I Am

One event that completely changed the way I feel about who I am happened many years ago, but its lessons will forever be with me. I feel that being the best mother I can be is the job I was cut out for. I have always taken pride in looking out for my family and what is best for all of us.  I have three daughters and when they started school, I also began volunteering at school two days per week. 

My youngest daughter needed some assistance with her speech development.  I was concerned for her, and was willing to do whatever was necessary to get her on the right track. I had been volunteering in the school for 5 years, and had just taken a job as an educational technician when the school called the meeting to discuss her learning. 

I went into the meeting feeling like this was going be a team effort to do what was best for my child. I walked in to the Kindergarten room, it was conference time, and the teacher and principal were there. They were both sitting in adult size chairs and there was a student chair there for me. It felt a little odd, but I was not too concerned. The meeting went on and I felt like I was under attack. There were many things discussed and comments were made that my daughter had not been exposed to certain things, and was not getting what she needed at home. I was shocked to hear this from co-workers who knew me and my children. I sat there and listened,  and we came up with a plan and life went on.

It was what happened when I got home that completely changed my life and my views. I cried for a couple of days thinking I was an unfit parent, although I knew this was not true. My husband and I had many discussions and by Sunday afternoon there was a new fire in me. I was not a bad parent, I had not done anything wrong and plain and simple my child needed help.
I came out of this knowing that I was a good mother and decided I would never let anyone talk down to me and treat me like that again. This was actually a very positive thing for me, because it helped me discover what was important to me: MY FAMILY! 

This event helped me find my voice and I am very grateful for that. This is just one example of how you don’t understand why something is happening at the time, but in the end it works out for the best.