The idea of becoming a Life Coach resonates with me and has been such a natural fit. When I had to change gears after 14 years of being a stay at home mom to my 4 kids, getting back into the work force, I was faced, as a single mom with some decisions. My kids are the center of my vocation as a Christian mother. I knew that whatever work I do needs to be flexible regarding working around their schedules. I home schooled the older three kids for 9 years. My youngest son has autism, so managing his therapy and special education program was vital to my every day life while exploring biomedical treatments for him along with learning about providing traditional, nonprocessed organic and GMO free food as we ventured into implementing a specific carbohydrate diet (GAPS). This new lifestyle was life altering, but it has turned out for the better.
I was able to quickly take a class in Applied Behavioral Analysis in order to get certified to work with kids with disabilities, adding to my experience working in children’s mental health for 10 years prior to starting my family. I was delighted to eventually land a job working with the developmental disability agency where my son recieves his behavioral therapy.
One of the neat things about working at Syringa Family Partnerships is that I can work with such neat kids, their families and exceptional staff who are innovative and positive. What makes such a difference in the lives of people we work with is when change happens, it is when it comes from within! The focus of a lot of the therapy we do is positive behavioral intervention. Who doesn’t like getting reinforced for doing things that have a positive benefit?
How does being a Life Coach such a natural fit? Well, quite simply, I’ve always been a positive person, despite life’s hardships. I have so much to be thankful for, beginning with life itself. I’m an identical twin and wasn’t even expected as my sister and I were numbers 6 and 7 out of a Catholic family of 8 kids! We were always taught to make the most of what we had and God always provided. Anne and I were born with a condition called Nail Patella Syndrome, which for us, predominately displayed itself with our arms not being able to straighten out. There are other parts of the syndrome but we never thought much of it as we were still able to live a normal life, although I had my own unique shooting form when playing basketball. I played sports and was quite a mediocre athlete with a lot of heart. My high school coach in track/cross country remarked to me that he wished all his athletes had my heart, yet saying nothing about my talent, …Oh well! My teammates consistently voted me Most Inspirational and I was voted Most Outgoing my senior year (Anne thought people were voting for her and put my name in by mistake.)
Throughout my life, I have used the gifts I have been given by God and enjoyed the opportunities provided to learn and to grow through the people placed in my path. I have found that when working within one’s gifts, one is energized! I have take a few Spiritual GIFT inventories over the years, early in my 20’s as well as in my early 30’s and consistently, the areas that I have the strongest inclination are the areas that I have enjoyed working: service. compassion, –
Into the Deep Life Coaching 