Hi Dr Laura,
I want to thank you for being on the air with encouragement for Moms, wives, families etc. I grew up in a large family, relatively independent, finished college and traveled around the world before settling down. I sailed in the first all women's team in the International Ocean Racing Competitions. We competed in the Pan Am Clipper Cup in 1980 in Hawaii on the NZ made sail boat Ruffian.
I was 30 before I settled down, married and had 5 children. The first shock to my system was when I became pregnant and spent 9 months vomiting. I was surprised my body responded this way to the pregnancy but I plowed through the days and definitely had a total rearrangement of my lifestyle.
The second life changing experience was when our four year old son was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. I was seven months pregnant with my 4th child. This medical drama continued on for a seven year battle during which time I fought physicians, neurosurgeons, insurance companies, hospitals etc to insure my son was treated with the best possible care. Our son died when he was eleven years old. It was after this that I trudged through the day trying to keep my sanity waiting until you came on the air with encouragement in the above mentioned areas of life. I choose you as my therapy, I bought myself a little walkman as I walked through the park to pick up my children from school and I didn't want to miss a word of your show.
You kept me sane with a healthy perspective and direction when I was grasping for my own soul and sanity needing to be available to my children and husband when I was hardly available to myself.
I am very grateful to my husband who worked hard so I could stay home and care for our children. I could not have anticipated the challenges I was to face as a mother but to have been able to be present everyday my son was alive and be available to his siblings who also suffered this challenging journey together was a blessing.
Putting ourselves in a position whereby I was able to stay home with our growing children was a conscious decision. We bought an inexpensive house, had one car until we could afford a second (all bought used) made meals at home, enjoyed the simple pleasures of life at the local park and budgeted in many other ways.
I want to let other women and parents know that sometimes as parents we do not have the choices we sometimes expect and to be prepared for the unexpected.
For me timing and perspective were important. I did some of the things I wanted to do before having children so felt free to give them the best of my time when they most needed it. None of this was easy but I can look back on most of this with little regret. Thank you for being a part of my family. You provide life saving help even when you may not know it.
B.
