Active Rain Challenge: What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger..

  Active Rain Challenge: What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger..  Life is full of difficulties, but setbacks and challenges can be the foundation for success. Adversity actually can make people stronger and healthier. The ability to cope with adversity -- to thrive when life is difficult, to get back up when you've been knocked down -- is called resilience. You don't have to be born with the capacity for resilience, it can be can be learned at any age by studying how other people overcame unusual stress or difficulties.

  As a little girl, I only wanted to be a nurse so I could take care of Daddy.   Mom worked 7 days a week in our restaurant but I spent most of the time with my dad. He was a diabetic and I used to give him insulin shots. Now this doesn't sound like a big deal but I was eight years old. If I was a nurse, I could have saved him. Or so I thought.

When we went for ice cream...I kept it secret. Shh...he wasn't supposed to have sugar.                        

                                

  Daddy died when I was eight and I became an RN! 

And then I made a wish and Lee came true.  We have been married 16,187 days! Yes, we still count the days and they are going by way too fast!                   

                                                                               

                                                                                                                   

Three years after our wedding, we had our daughter, Erica, and I stopped my nursing career. That was after being named the youngest Head Nurse at Sinai Hospital.

Being a 'stay at home mom' I took up my second career..that of a ceramic and porcelain artist. There was a full studio in my home where I custom designed pottery for clients, The Design Center in DC, the Symphony Decorator's Show House, plus doing window displays for fine jewelry stores. My porcelains were used to drape the strands of gold, diamonds and pearls over the art pieces. I even made closing gifts for some of the real estate agents.

                                        
                                       

 

Then there was the accident...rear ended while driving. With neck and back issues I needed surgery. Since they could not guarantee the use of my hands...I decided against it. They advised me not to lift more than five pounds.  My box of clay weighed 50 pounds..no more ceramics for awhile.

During this time I get a "cold" call from a former nurse asking if I wanted to sell my house. Yep she was now a Realtor®.

I had been helping people by writng ads for their homes and finding houses in the area for friends. For that service, I got beautiful thank you notes. This former nurse told me to get licensed. She wanted my referrals.

That same week, I signed up for Real Estate classes to occupy myself until I could get back to the clay which I loved.

That was 1990 when my third career as Realtor® began.  Many of my former patients, their families and owners of my artwork are now my real estate clients. I love walking into a home and finding one of my custom pieces out on display. I love being able to use my nursing background. Especially  helpful is the psychology needed for dealing with the stress of moving. I love being able to incorporate my nursing, my ceramic art and my love of real estate into my wonderful life!

      This post is an entry in the Active Rain Challenge: 

       What Doesn't Kill You...Makes You Stronger!