Apparently, every website has one of these. Analyze as you see fit.
Hi! I’m Molly. I’m an avid reader, compulsive editor (ie Grammar Nazi, albeit with a self-blind-spot), and adult science-fiction/fantasy nerd in a small Midwestern town where such anomalies are barely tolerated. I’ve played D&D once (abortively) in my life but love the idea despite lacking the core friend group to achieve it. I enjoy musical and improvisational theater. I love watching other people play RPG video games but suck at them myself. My favorite leisure activities are: sleeping/reading (I used to think these were interchangeable, until I understood what sleep deprivation really meant), creating crappy digital art, messing with my website, and playing mindless computer games. I love well-written fiction in any medium: steampunk, sci-fi, fantasy, romance, historical, modern, post-apocalyptic, whatever… I’m a perpetual student but an expert at nothing. I love clothing and fashion and would design beautiful things for curvy girls if I had the time and talent. I have been married to my best friend for almost 13 years and we have watched each other change through jobs, beliefs, illusions, substances, responsibilities, children, and everything in between. I suck at gardening (although I keep trying because it’s too economically sensible not to). I hate chickens (due to a very specific childhood trauma) but still love the idea of backyard poultry. I appreciate the idea of sustainability but lack the time or seed money to take myself off the grid. I believe in individuality and creativity, but mediated by a world based on respect and discipline. I hate the ‘natural’ vs. whatever-else, breast vs. bottle, homemade baby food vs. not, cloth vs. disposable, home-school vs. public and any other stupid Mommy Wars battles. I believe that every mother can do the best she can with what she has for her children, and that how she does it is no one’s business but her own (except her mother-in-law’s, who will criticize[helpfully, of course] regardless). “If you’re feeding that baby, you’re doing it right.” Molly says that. She means it. Seriously. SERIOUSLY.
I have been blessed and challenged by four incredibly unique children who test my compassion and patience every day of their lives, and who each assume that the sun and moon rise (and set) – which means Mama has to do something – on their every whim. I have four(4) children with unique needs, and two(2) with “Special Needs”. Microdeletion 16p11.2, Global Developmental Delays, ADHD, ADD, Learning Disabilities, Hypothyroidism, Obesity, Anxiety, and Depression are the special key words that (so far) get thrown around at the doctor’s office regarding our family, if you need labels. I have the somewhat unusual situation of one “Special” and one “Gifted” child in school at the moment. Granted, both are only in Kindergarten, but if I had a gazillion dollars, I would fund Research with expected immediate Development of an individualized program for truly bright children to be taught at the level and speed that they were ready to learn. My “Special Needs” children are very, very thoroughly supported. My “gifted” child is absolutely ignored. That seems fundamentally wrong.
Faith is a central part of my life, and without it there would literally be no life to write about. I have been through some incredibly difficult times, and my faith in and fear of the Lord (as well as a few miracles and a whole lot of prayer) has seen me through more than I can completely express in an ‘About Me’ synopsis. My husband and family are very involved in the trust of God and the application of faith through Jesus’s New Covenant, the Holy Spirit, and all the grace we can muster. We don’t subscribe to any specific denomination, we just look for places where we are genuinely welcomed, can feel the Holy Spirit, and can find ways to learn and grow in faith under the leadership. In our household, we try our best to live a life that teaches our children that they are princes and princesses of the Kingdom, with inexplicable value and authority, but also with expectation and purpose. Lots of very general big words, but also not something I can adequately explain in a summary.
Oh, yes, I’m also ‘technically’ a BSN-prepared Registered Nurse. A thoroughly burned-out, jaded, sick of the system ex-RN. I worked for a number of years in nursing homes/hospice, too much time on Med/Surg, some Labor/Delivery and Postpartum/Nursery, and Emergency as well. I went for a DNP and was accepted at the University of Iowa. My ultimate idea was to create a ‘barter’ clinic where people traded their legitimately useful services for community-funded medical and preventative care, but the cost to continue was too significant to justify ($135,000.00 to go from BSN to DNP at an approximately equal income level before and after of $30,000ish annually for this area, if you’re curious. I did a lot of very specific math.). I still think the barter clinic could be a good idea, but only if it was associated with a extensive community education that recognizes the value of primary medical care, and absolute clarity on the actual cost of that care.
My “job” at the moment, aside from the more-than-full-time I spend caring for a family that will someday promote the next generation of (hopefully) decent human beings, is as a float phlebotomist in the regional clinic lab pool of the local health care conglomerate. I get to poke people with needles, utilize and hone a specific skill, and I don’t have to answer any stupid call lights. As an added bonus, ‘regional’ means go with the flow, ‘clinic’ means it only happens during banker’s hours, and ‘float’ means I don’t get entrenched in the culture and politics of one site. I can go, check, poke, fill, chart, and leave. It is absolutely wonderful. I get to talk briefly to other grown-ups about general things, and I get to stick a needle in a total stranger and pretend I’m sorry. How could there be a more perfect job?
I am not my job, I’m not my education, I’m not my children, I’m not my interests. I’m a combination of all and a justification of none. This is me.
September 8, 2014Molly