A New Direction

I posted this on February 27, 2010, on facebook:

When my second ear qualified for a cochlear implant, I was devastated. This was very much not the plan I had for my life. And it has indeed been hard to adjust to this new reality. Working in a preschool classroom is just difficult.

But it has also freed me up to be open to ask God, “What do you have planned for my life? Since I believe this is not a surprise to you, I also believe you have plans that include my deafness. I still have purpose and meaning--open my eyes to see what I should do now...”

If it were not for my hearing loss, I would not have inquired at Alexander Graham Bell Montessori School in January 2002. I would not have taken the Montessori training, would not have learned cued speech to work with the kids with hearing loss, and had the incredible sense of being exactly where God wanted me.

Now my hearing loss has progressed, and I need to move on again. The woman who hired me at AGBMS, Karen Brenner, left soon after to work on developing Montessori work with Alzheimer’s. My mom has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s this year, and suddenly Karen’s work takes on new meaning.

I’m now pursuing that. The more I read, the more excited I get. I’ve decided to let go of my job teaching preschoolers (at the end of the school year, of course), and see where this new direction will lead. Karen says I can get a job doing something with this concept, using Montessori principles to work with people with Alzheimer’s. I don’t know yet *what* I will do, but I am finding out, one step at a time.

My mom lives two and a half hours away, so I won’t exactly be able to work with her regularly, but she is certainly my guinea pig. I’m taking a course this semester at the community college in adult psychology and aging. I am learning so much there, and in my interactions with my mom and the other residents at her assisted living apartment building.

I don’t know what I’ll be doing in the coming year, or years, but it’s exciting (and a bit unnerving) to take this leap of faith, that this is truly what I am supposed to do as the next big step in my life.

And it’s thanks to my hearing loss.