Like most young people, I daydreamed about all the things I wanted to do when I grew up. I daydreamed about being a fireman, a policeman, and a preacher. I also daydreamed about unrealistic things, like being a cowhand on a ranch and living on the USS Enterprise. My biggest interest was always in helping my fellow man. Over the years I have helped people of all ages. I have used sign language and braille to assist people, and most importantly made sure that I was there for them if they needed anything. I have helped people do the things that they could not do for themselves. When people appreciate the work I do, this joyful feeling wells up inside of me. When I get this feeling I know that my Heavenly Father and Jesus, my Lord, and Savior, are pleased with my work.
As life would have it, I couldn't handle the life of a fireman or a policeman. Then I found out I needed four years of college before I could go to college to be a preacher. In my early 20's, being a cowhand was unheard of for a girl. And living on a starship doesn't exist yet.
One Sunday morning, in church, when I was in tenth grade, I sat behind a family that knew sign language. The little boy was talking to his mother. She said "shhhhhhh", so the little boy started signing. Instead of listening to the sermon, I found myself paying more attention to the little boy signing. I was fascinated by how he could "speak" without words.
After the service, I asked the mother about sign language. She told me that the man in the wheelchair could teach me how to speak in sign language. I asked how. She said he could hear but could not speak. So, the man in the wheelchair taught me many signs and the alphabet and numbers, by writing what he was saying on a piece of paper.
A few weeks later, I helped teach the deaf Sunday school class at church. I thought it was a class to learn sign language, but it turned out to be a class to teach the deaf children to learn about God. So I taught the children about God and in the process I learned more sign language. This came in handy in later years. I joined the church choir and my son sat on the front pew so I could see him. If he wanted something he would sign it to me and I could sign back the answer. In this way, we did not disturb the congregation.
During my mid 20's and 30's, I spent a lot of my life doing volunteer work with the elderly. I was also getting curious about braille. I tried to figure it out on my own, but I didn't get very far. In my early 40's I found an organization that helped the blind. This got my foot in the door. I volunteered at this organization.
One of the volunteers was blind. We became good friends. She volunteered to teach me, Braille. We met at her house once a week and she taught me to number two braille. I could not feel the dots very well with my fingers. So, instead of using touch to read the braille, I used sight.
In 2004, I finally found a job at a school, in Louisiana that utilized my skills in sign language and braille. This job lasted several years until the school was closed. In this school, I worked with people ages 8 to 98. There was a wide variety of different needs at this school. It ranging from mental to physical disabilities.
The reason it was called a state school was that the staff taught the individuals how to accomplish their everyday needs. This included going to work and making money. The staff accompanied the individuals to the job site and taught them how to accomplish their objective. The individuals cleaned post offices, church buildings, and even worked in a restaurant as waiters, cooks, and busboys. Some individuals even helped count the money at the checkout counter. This restaurant was run by the state school. The restaurant was open to the general public.
One of the ways I helped one individual was to mark this gentleman's paper money with braille markings so he would know how much each bill was worth. I also have a deck of playing cards that are marked in braille. This made it possible for him to play cards with the rest of the group. He enjoyed this because he had always been left out before.
After the state school closed I worked for other organizations in Louisiana that needed my skills. I prayed for many days asking God what He wanted me to do with my life. I needed more work. It's hard to get work in my home state of Louisiana.
One day I called my sister to ask if she would like some recipes I found. While we were on the phone she told me all about this great organization called TLC. This sounded just like what I was praying for. So I moved to Vermont and started working for TLC. I took a Licensed Nurses Assistant training class and became a Licensed Nurses Assistant in December of 2017.
Some of my favorite things to do with the people I work with is to play games with them, take them shopping, go on walks with them, and talk to them so they won't feel so lonely.
Now I have a great job that is fulfilling. I get to help people with their needs, do God's will, and fulfill some of my new desires, like skiing, playing the flute and the recorder, boating, singing in the church choir etc.
I guess the main reason I'm a caregiver is the joy I have in my heart when I make someone happy. When someone I help appreciates my work, I can see the joy on their faces and this makes being a caregiver worthwhile. I like making someone's day a happy one.
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