My Journey Through Female Role Models

She is a social work icon. She is in her mid 70s and she is a force to be reckoned with. She will go and speak her mind about any kind of discrimination that is being made towards her client. I have never witnessed, but I sure have heard about it. I don't feel sorry for anyone that has stood in her way, because she has a reason and a means to get her point across. Her husband dies, and she shows up for the company Christmas Luncheon about 2 to 4 weeks later. She.is.amazing. I was trained by two different women, and am ecstatic that one of them was her. Especially since we both have degrees down the same intellectual path. I take a look at her long list of experience and am amazed. She even has the same no nonsense style and likes to throw a headband in her hair and off she goes. Alongside this woman, I know I fit in.

She is supportive herself. She tries to support me through my current health issues. Hopefully, she will be in my corner when I need time to heal from my surgery. I celebrate my first year work anniversary on February 23, 2016, which is also my brother's first year work anniversary, as he had to find another job because his previous full time job, of 18 years, was going out of business. It is really quite funny, the coincidences in mine and my brother's start dates. Especially, now that his wife works for my office. However, I surely do adore this female co-worker. I hope I get the opportunity to learn more from her.

I just recently found out that this amazing woman lost one of her two sons when he was just 21 years old. Her only remaining son never had children, so she never became a grandmother. I guess this might be why she is always so kind enough to take her co-workers out for a meal, in which she has done for me twice. One was a couple days ago, which is when I found out about her son's death. I, seriously, love this woman. She is the most inspiring woman that I have ever met. During this meal was when I finally came clean with the fact that I still have had no confirmation as to where my youngest daughter is. The fact that I hired a private investigator to find out where my ex-husband and his new wife are. However, every ounce of my being tells me that all three of my children are stateside, while their father and his new wife are not. The whole situation disappoints me every day. Apparently, this amazing woman is just as amazed about the things that I have been through as well.

She was my contact into my retention clients, that I go in and see once a week. The best CSM EVER!!! Until she left one store to go to another, which I ended up following her for awhile, as I ended up getting another client at her new store. Sounds creepy, but it happened. She ended up being named the "Friendliest CSM" at her new store. She's been married, and will never do it again. She has one child. It is unfortunate that she still, constantly, has to move around the town she lives in. People that do not make enough can never set up roots in one place. She, like everyone else, hates the process of moving. However, she is amazingly strong.

At the same store that the best CSM EVER was named the BEST CSM EVER, I met a woman who told me she married a man much younger than herself. She said, "it was the best thing I ever did." She was happier than she has ever been. She said, "women had MORE of a problem with her marrying a younger man than the men in her life."

Since this meeting of the minds, I agree with her. I will not put a limitation on a romantic relationship due to age. One never knows - your twin flame or soulmates soul could be put in the body of someone younger. It isn't a problem for me.

She trained me when I worked my first job at 16 years old. I stayed at that job until I was 21, and wrote her letters, when I lived out of state, through snail mail.She has kept every single picture that I sent to her of my three children. She said, "I put together an album of all the pictures you sent me, which included pictures of my three kids."

This friend was abused by her now ex-husband, and could not take care of her children, due to a nervous breakdown, during her divorce. Some of her issues, seem to be similar to mine. How she got up the courage to remarry, I really do not know?!?! But remarry - she did. She now has her children, and two grandchildren in her life. Through this, she still has a relationship with God. I don't know how she hasn't felt that she was abandoned by him? Relationships....it takes two to have one, and only one to destroy it.

She's been through heck, and she's still standing. I, finally, have met her new husband. Which is a weird situation of how she met him. Although, I have noticed that she doesn't take as much crap as she used to. Which is probably due to the things that she has been through. It has been nice to have her back in my life.

She works waayyy too many doubles at her weekend job. No telling what hours she works at her weekly job? She's been divorced for 25 years and has no desires to do it again. She loves her dog. He is her man. She knows why she's a workaholic. She knows why I am headed that way too. She knows it is a small world. (The manager of her store knows my father.) She knows that people lie to destroy other people's lives. (She's said so about a young girl who people have said was on drugs, in which, she knows to be false, and that she's just an adorable girl.) She is the type of person that will make the determination on you by YOU, not by what someone else says about you. THAT IS HOW IT SHOULD BE!!! Don't pass along rumors that ruin lives. You have every right to stand up for yourself. If you don't, that's on you. She works her doubles, and should be the first to go home when the rush dies down, but the Assistant Manager doesn't let her go home. She feels she is there to babysit the younger employees. Deep down, she loves it. It is obvious that she works her doubles because she cannot imagine filling up her weekends with anything else. She is a nurturer, despite her failed marriage. However, she won't fail at it again, because no man is worth her taking that path again. She is just fine. She loves who she is without the bounds of matrimony. She.is.amazing.

It was a difficult holiday (2015 into 2016) between me and the job coach that has been with the firm for 8 years. For one case, I was placed in the position of authority over her. Our boss told us what he wanted to see, and we implemented it. I was to be the primary job coach on this case, with assistance from 2 coaches on the weekends, because I had to be coaching a young kid closer to my home. I kept on top of entering data into the database on the client, which also included adding another coaches' information into the database because he couldn't get into the system. However, it made paperwork much easier today (January 4, 2016).

After getting my paperwork done, I took a meeting with my boss to discuss BOTH clients, as they were HIS clients first. (He not only runs the office. He also works as a job developer.) He agreed that we should put one of my clients on 50% coaching. Needless to say, the job coach that has been with the firm for 8 years and I were VERY ecstatic. Full embrace ecstatic. The boss seemed pleased that I stuck it out for the entire holiday, as well as venturing out during the MO State flood. (I had to get to work by using Hwy 364 and then go up Hwy K in O'Fallon, as Hwy 70 was shut down due to flooding.) It sucks when the ONLY full day off you have is on Christmas Day AND New Year's Eve. BUT IT'S DONE NOW!!! Now, I get to see the client tomorrow and tell him the delightful news.

Now that this has long passed. I moved back to retail, and she has been battling cancer. Our paths continue.

I first met this person when she worked where I worked when I was 16 years old. (Kmart). We re-connected at one of my client's employments. It has been great seeing her again. She is always a helpful ally to my client. She gave me some valuable advice to help resolve an issue that my client was having. Issue has been resolved, and he is still employed. She wants to plan a Kmart employment reunion. It is always great to have a head's up on such events. She has been quite a support to me on some bad days. Which I feel has been lacking in my life.

Even as adults, I find that we still hit bumps that give us the opportunity for growth. This person has been raising a child, by herself, for some time. Even during a time where she had issues holding down a job. This has not been an issue lately. She is now a manager. We have had many deep conversations about character, integrity and empathetic abilities. With the opportunity of working with customers, we witness how low some people can go in trying to steal merchandise. They think they are getting away with something at the time, but it all comes full circle to bite you.

While working with this co-worker, I picked up the walkie and made an announcement to the manager on duty. The manager thought I was my co-worker and thanked her. I got back on the walkie and said, "this is <blank>, not <blank>." I, later, told my co-worker that the manager had mistaken me for her. She's like, "it's all in the attitude." Well, if there is anyone at work that I would want to be mistaken for it would, definitely, be her. Guess her boldness is rubbing off on me. Funny thing is, she also comes from French ancestry. Hmmm