I am a strong, single momma bear of two wonderful children. My Gwendolyn is 9 going on 21 and my awesome moto man Brody is 8. We love to adventure and it’s always together.

We ride dirt bikes and we love spending time together hiking, biking or road tripping. My children have adopted my 2 greatest wellness passions; running and yoga. These are probably the two things that really keep me grounded and rooted in the present. I don’t remember the last time I actually felt bored. I keep a very packed schedule. I work full time as a Paramedic Supervisor for Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital in grass valley. My ambulance career has been 13 years long. Trust me I feel it! I have loved the opportunities it has afforded me to help others and truly make a difference in their lives. I decided to continue on in my path of medicine and take on nursing school. I am currently a student in a private BSN program in sacramento. It is also a full time gig. I look forward to graduating and eventually making my way into Labor and delivery as that has been my passion for as long as i can remember. Ever since I was little, if there was a baby in the room it was in my arms!

I look forward to getting re-married again in the future and would love to have more children. The idea of a blended family does not scare me like it used to. I have learned that we are all just doing the best we can and we cannot always foresee the future, but we can certainly decide who we want to be and choose happiness.

I am a huge fan of meal prepping! It saves me many nights and also reminds me to eat during the day. With my busy schedule and my constant traveling to and from work/school/kid activities, I have to really plan meals to make sure I’m not just grabbing what’s fast and easy. Sundays have become my prep days. Laundry, meal prep and housework get set up for a week of success.

We literally had a sit-down family meeting when I started school. I explained how much work it was gong to be for not only myself but for our entire family in order for mommy to succeed. They were so mature and understanding. I did not get one complaint, in fact I got the opposite. They told me how very proud they are of me and what I am doing to better myself for our family and they both willingly volunteered to take on more responsibility on their chore charts. They even make sure they are doing quiet play when I am studying for a big test or writing a paper. They are rewarded for their completion of daily chore charts by an allowance that we electronically transfer into a checking account we opened for the both of them. They have quite a nice savings of money going an they check it on their schools financial app on their tablets. We are trying to teach them financial responsibility.

This concept has never been more true. I really had to make sure my support network was far reaching and dependable when I took on this busy task. My family has always been a big help when it comes to my children. My mother especially has always been there to help me. The children’s father and I have a very good working relationship when it comes to our children. He is a fire captain and also has a pretty wild and unpredictable schedule. We work very well together in our support and flexibility of one another’s schedules. I am so grateful for that. I am always amazed at how generous my close friends and even not so close friends have been, now that I am in school. Many of my nurse friends especially have offered to pick my children up or just “help out” in a any way I need. It’s literally brought me to tears the level of support I have received. I really count on my village to get me through this extremely busy time in my life.

Oh ya, me! lol!! I really have to work at this. When I don’t take time for myself I can really feel my sanity and grounded roots start slipping away. I have to RUN! It is literally the cleansing of my soul. I use that time to decompress and just be. I process my stress and make sense of things I cannot otherwise. Running is my wings! My soul food. That being said, if running is my wings, than Yoga is my roots. Whenever I am lost I just get back to the mat. I flow out my feelings and leave all my worries and anxieties of life on the mat. I never leave yoga feeling worse. I always leave refreshed and grounded. It helps me get reconnected with the present and helps me battle the depression of regret and the anxiety of the future.

I truly love humans. I have this heart that just feels EVERYTHING! Good or bad. I love the human condition and the struggles that become successes. I feel grateful when I get to be the one who makes a life saving intervention and even more grateful when I get to sit and hold someone’s hand and cry with them. That is what makes my job so special. The human connection. That ability to feel that oneness. I feel their pain because we are connected. I want to further my career in medicine because I love growing. I love evolving and changing and challenging myself to be better. I want to try new avenues of helping and caring for others. Nursing has endless opportunities that way. My job has made me a better mother because I appreciate every day. I come home from a hard shift and just squeeze my babies like I never want to let go. They bring me so much love and joy which really helps to offset any sadness that comes with the hard parts of my job. Also, it has helped me feel like I can let them engage in activities that may be scary to other moms. I like for them to spread their wings and try things that challenge them. I want them to get dirty and climb that tree!

Make time for you! It gets really stressful, but if you make sure you’re feeling good inside and out, you will get through it. It is worth the effort! It’s priceless to feel good about challenging yourself to follow your dreams and feel like you succeeded. I am grateful for the growing pains because I know I am going to look back and feel really proud of my accomplishments. Mommas, you can do ANYTHING you put your mind to! I love to see other mommas working for their dreams! We are in this together!