One thing I especially love about blogging is the ability to network, learn from, and be creatively energized from my peers across the United States. Their passion is assuredly contagious and their lesson plans have given me the ability to become a better therapist. I like to believe that my approach to speech-language therapy is both fun and functional for my clients, meaning that the children are having a good time while learning strategies that will support their communication and daily living skills. The handcrafted materials that I have acquired over the last couple years from my peers have allowed me to not only be the therapist that I want to be, but also have given me the time to wear a few other hats. I'd like to share a little more about my personal life with you in this post and give you a glimpse of what my busy life is like beyond my speech-language pathology world.
Besides having this rewarding career for the last 14 years, I live a blessed life as a wife and mom in Naperville, Illinois. Fortunately, my husband's career allows me the opportunity to work part time under a school contract while establishing a private therapy practice right in our home: Naperville Therapediatrics. Today, will be the last day that I clock in at the school that I have come to love, but I am so excited with the growth of my private practice and I'm more than ready to dedicate time to my business! I can honestly say that in all my years of practice, which I incidentally began as a speech-language assistant, I have never once questioned my career choice. I consider myself so lucky to be part of such a rewarding field. This new chapter of owning my clinic has been a goal of mine for some time, and now I am seeing my dreams come true.
Working privately gives me the luxury to be an important part of my eight year old son's life from getting him to swim practice a couple times a week to teaching his weekly religious education class and volunteering at least once a month to work in his classroom. Our days are busy and I'm sure I'm not alone in this type of lifestyle. I was under this misguided impression that as I got older, things would slow down a bit, but instead, my forties have become my busiest decade to date! I could tell you how important it is to "seize the day", but I'm sure you already know that given the times we are living in now. Instead, I will share my realistic approach to this motto and it doesn't include making and doing all that I pin on Pinterest! Rather, it's a simple, stop and smile. At least four years ago, I was rushing down the stairs holding my then, four year old boy's hand, when I thought how easy it would be to stop for a few seconds, every couple steps, look at him and smile. We honestly continue to carry on like this every now and then and I love it! I recently told him that whenever I smile at him, I'm thinking, "Thank you God for this child." Now, he tells me a similar message back as he looks at me and smiles with his loving expression and it melts my heart every time. He doesn't care if I make the best holiday cookies or create the fanciest of lunch bag meals, he cares that I take a moment to stop and smile even as our days get busier by the minute.
Simple, right? I encourage you to find someone in your life to stop and smile with every so often. Think about it, it may only take a couple minutes a year to brighten someone's days. As always, thanks for following speech2me and for getting to know a little more about me beyond my speech-language world.
