My Supports

My most needed support most mornings is coffee.  You may laugh at this but I have a 14 month son who had never slept through the night.  He is up three, four, seven times a night.  He is now getting his molars and now it’s worse.  I have learned to function on very little sleep.  I start my coffee before I get in the shower and pour my big travel mug right before I walk out the door 45 minutes later.  Without I do not think I could function and make it through the day.  I did not really drink coffee much before I had my son.  I never had a problem with my daughter.

My emotional supports through the day are my family.  I get hugs and kisses from my daughter and son when I get them up and when I leave for work.  I get good morning and good by kisses from my husband as well.  He also tells me to have a good day and to have a safe drive to work.  On my way to work I usually talk to my mom every morning.  In the afternoon I pick my children up from our home care provider and I am usually greeted with smiles, hugs, and excitement.  When we get home the kids go play and I make dinner.  Then my husband gets home and we talk about our day and sit down as a family to have dinner.  We talk and listen to each other whenever we need each other.  He is my main emotional support.  Life would be very difficult without having these three involved. 

At work I have several people in my department that are there to help support me to complete my job functions.  I have my supervisor who helps guide me, my office partner that helps me locate files and information, our secretary that helps me reserve rooms for training, and several others in the department that help me with other tasks.  I also have selected individuals at agencies that we work closely with that are there to help me as well when I need guidance or direction with finding trainers or scheduling training. 

The Other main support I have in my day is my I-Phone.  It is my alarm clock to get up in the morning without it I would never get up.  I use various apps in it for email, Facebook, internet, even Walden’s site to do homework.  I also use apps to keep my grocery list, to do list, appointment calendar, set birthday reminders, set my DVR to record a show or movie.  It is a very much needed support  night when my children do not want to go to sleep and I can go on You Tube and play the Pajanimals song Lullaby and it calms them right down.  If I play it a few times they generally will be asleep in no time.

The challenge I chose to imagine would be not having my family.  I am 32 and I have never once lived alone.  I cannot imagine not having someone to wake up with in the morning, come home to or have them come home to me in the evening, or say good night to before bed, even if it’s just a roommate.  I think I would need a great deal of extended family support and friend support.  I would need something in my life to keep my occupied and not be bored pondering the “what ifs”.  I would defiantly need a close group of friends to ensure a healthy social life.  I also believe I would become a workaholic and be there long hours writing and finding training. 

I think supports I would have if I didn't have my family would be that I am actively involved with my church.  I would probably become more involved and volunteer more in the community.  My other supports would be that I love doing crafts such as scrapbooking, sewing, and DIY projects.  I would have a very creative house and have awesome Christmas presents for my friends and family. 

I cannot imagine my life without my husband and kids now.  Life would be very boring but I am not sure how that would be, now that I do not have to worry about it.  I would have lived my life never knowing how it would be without them and imagining myself with having a husband and children someday.