Journeys and Paths

There have been many times in my life when I thought I had my path mapped out. I had a goal, and I had my path to get there...or so I thought. I planned to graduate high school and go to a small liberal arts college in Minnesota. But due to available scholarships I ended up at UNL. I planned to graduate in 4 years as a genetic scientist. Yet six and a half years later I graduated with a degree in education. I was pretty sure I wanted to teach 3rd grade or younger in Lincoln, but accepted a job teaching 5th grade in Papillion. Even better, when I was a young teenager, I assumed I'd be married and have children by the time I was 20 or 21 years old...

Looking back over my life, my goals, and the sometimes crooked paths I've taken,  I'm reminded that life doesn't always (actually rarely) goes as planned. I am thankful that I ended up at UNL where we could somewhat better afford my multiple changes in major. I loved teaching older kids-they have a much better understanding of my sarcastic humor. And if I hadn't ended up in Omaha (or had I been married by age 21) I never would have met Tim. 

At this point in my life, I have a "goal" to be a mother. Yet I already am a mother. I'm a mother to two beautiful angels, and I'm a mother to three crazy dogs. I hope to have more children, but who knows what that path will take. It may be a straight line, or it may be a crooked path. But whatever path this journey may follow, at some point in the (hopefully not toooo far future) I will again have a child at home to mother. In the meantime, I will nurture my puppies, my students at school, and even Tim!