I am a professional historian, wife, daughter, friend, volunteer, and mom. Even though I love all my roles, the one that means the most to me is mom. I never realized the impact that motherhood would have on me. The births and other milestones of my children punctuate my history. When someone asks me about my work timeline, I remember it like this: I left a full-time job at the state department of transportation when my oldest was one and I was pregnant with my youngest. I started a master’s degree program in history when my youngest was in diapers. And when my oldest daughter was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor at the age of 6, I took on a role that I never wanted: mom of a cancer survivor.
Though it may seem counterintuitive, I started a new job during my daughter’s cancer treatment. It actually helped me find the balance my family needed during that difficult time; in addition to the invaluable support from my family, the insurance benefits were incredibly helpful. If I’ve learned anything from this experience, I know there are no easy choices when it comes to personal decisions about work, life, and motherhood. Women need to trust their intuition and do what they think is right for their family. There is no one path that will work for everyone, and you really can’t judge a situation from the outside.
Thankfully my daughter fought and beat her cancer. When she had recovered from her treatments, we got a dog—a cute Bichon Frise the girls named Coco. I resisted getting a dog while she was in treatment, thinking that it would be too hard for us to manage caring for a pet while focused on the well-being of our children. But as soon as Coco joined our family, we realized she provided us all with unlimited comfort and joy at a time when we needed it most. The addition of Coco turned out to be pivotal in my daughter’s recovery and path after cancer.
At the age of 9, my daughter declared that she wanted to raise money for other young cancer survivors to get dogs during treatment. She knew that dogs and humans have a very special bond, and dogs provide a special medicine. She began baking dog biscuits and selling them at a stand near our house. We found a little girl through our hospital that we gifted with a dog from the nearby prison dog training program. On the day of the adoption, the Denver Post attended and ran the photo on the front page of the newspaper. The news spread, and her little project took on steam. A local philanthropist gave her $10,000 to give more dogs to children in need, and we founded a non-profit foundation to help run the program. Called the Stink Bug Project, we have provided dogs to more than 100 families and counting since 2009.
My daughter taught me the importance of giving back to others—and also to myself. Aside from being a mom, the other thing that makes me feel complete is being a historian. I joined Mead & Hunt 4 years ago after running my own consulting business. I wanted to work with a bigger team for the challenge and variety of work, and I was excited to join the company and the other talented historians here. My job at Mead & Hunt has been very fulfilling and I love being part of a supportive team dedicated to helping people and taking care of one another. Now that my daughters are 17 and 19, thriving and happy, I look back on their childhood and celebrate how each one of us has evolved over the years to continue to grow and change. As far as I’m concerned, that’s the secret to a happy life.
