Fiercely Independent Pam

Blog

  • Happy Birthday to Me!

    Today is my 46th Birthday! I love birthdays and have always tried to celebrate them for both myself and others. After the medical stuff that has come transpired in my life and the close calls, I know every birthday is a gift! Bring on the cake, balloons, and well wishes- I love it all! Being in mid-May, my birthday has historically been difficult to celebrate because of the chaos this time of year, but somehow, my family and friends always made it happen.

    I remember a lot of birthdays: In high school, my sister Cindy and her friend stuck in to the school and decorated my locker with wrapping paper and balloons. My “milestone” birthdays all come with great memories too. My “Sweet 16” was celebrated “Luau Style” in the backyard, the quintessential TGIF mudslide and more on my 21st, birthdays as a classroom teacher were wild- surprise parties, pancake making chaos and more, my 30th was celebrated at my school’s 75th Anniversary Gala and then at school with my students doing 30 “things” every hour- they jumped, sang, and more in my office, on the microphone, and outside during recess, and finally my 40th was celebrated at Walt Disney World with my awesome sisters (Can’t wait to do this again for #50!). Some birthdays ended up being “celebrated” in the hospital- Nurses made the day special! No matter where I was or what was going on my friends and family always made the day awesome!

    This year is no different. Since moving back to Myrtle Beach, I’ve been able to share my birthday with my nephew, PJ, whose birthday is the 18th. Yesterday, he was a “whole hand big!” He graciously shared his cake and special moment with me- family is everything! Today I woke up, showered (Ugh! so tiring), put on a dress, and got ready for my big day! I’ve been treated to a bouquet of flowers, a gorgeous plant for my patio, a balloon for my wheelchair, and promises of more treats!

    The lesson in all of this is that you are never too old to celebrate your birthday! You have been given the gift of life and celebrating your birthday is one way to show the world that you value your life! Eat the cake, embrace the singing, and cherish the memories!

  • Hello World!

    This is officially my first post. A blog is something that I have wanted to do for quite sometime. I tried my hand at it when I was going through some medical stuff a few years ago, but nothing came of the testing or the blog. I am hoping that this blog and website reaches an audience that will benefit from it.

    I remember a principal inservice where we were challenged to write as many answers as possible in a given time that answered the question: Who are you? I immediately wrote “professional-type answers”- I am a change agent, principal, teacher, healer, public speaker, etc. I was proud of the fact that I wrote so many “smart” sounding answers. Then the speaker talked about what we all missed- the actual person behind the “job.” She then challenged us to do the exercise again, but to think person- first. I wrote, less confidently, I am a: daughter, aunt, sister, friend, confidant, neighbor, etc. We were then challenged one more time to write down answers to the question- Who are you?- after speaking about our role in the greater universe. I simply wrote, I am a child of God, a follower of Jesus and realized this was the most important answer.

    Fast forward to today, when I am no longer running on the hamster wheel of administrator life, I am not sure how I would answer this question. Probably immediately I would write something about being disabled or sick, or even a wheelchair user, but these answers don’t define me any more than “change agent” or “public speaker” did just nine years ago. I struggle with this daily. I am still an aunt, friend, sister, neighbor, and confidant. I am still a child of God and follower of Jesus, I am still Pam- Just a little more fierce and maybe a little less independent and through it all still rocking the smile and my curls!