Embracing Limitless Abilities

I have been truly blessed in my life. Often times I don’t see it, but I have. I had parents that loved me, brought me up in church, and taught me to treat everyone with respect until they give me a reason not to. They taught me it’s not my place to judge someone for any reason. Be nice to everyone and treat them with dignity. With this perspective on life and interacting and engaging with others, I have been able to build rapport and make friends while looking beyond appearance and abilities. Through the course of my career since I completed my undergraduate degree I have worked with individuals with mental health obstacles, geriatric individuals in nursing homes and residential care facilities, and the intellectually/developmentally disabled. I have never once believed that I was or am better than anyone, thanks to loving direction from my parents.

As I was making my way through my career and finding my wings, I learned how to meet people where they are at. Do I talk to my current friends the same way I talk to my colleagues? No, but I also do not talk down to them. I just change the words to ones they can understand and help them understand what I am saying when they are struggling to comprehend our conversation. I do not look at their “disability” as a hard roadblock to living a full and happy life. I look at it as an obstacle that can be overcome to a degree by how it is perceived. It requires them and their caregivers to think outside of the box in order to overcome each obstacle as it presents itself. I have seen parents who have brought their loved one up not focusing on a “disability” but thinking that they just have to do some things differently than others to achieve the same goal of being happy and living their fullest life. I have also seen caregivers holding their loved one back from opportunities that could help their loved one grow and be happy and fulfilled by fencing them in by their disability. I choose to encourage my friends to try things that they would like to do, of course as long as it is safe for them, and I am one of their biggest cheerleaders. When they tell me something they have done, be it big or small, I let them know how much of a rockstar they are. Even if what they tried did not work out as they hoped, I let them know that they are still a rockstar for even trying. Failure is not roadblock; it’s a learning process whether you have a disability or not. I would do my very best to move the earth and stars if I could help any of the people I get the distinct pleasure of working with each day. I have referred to them as my friends and my “peeps” and the ones that have heard me refer to them as such smile and often times giggle. The door to my office is almost always open when I am in it and the individuals that I have built a strong rapport with know they are welcome in my office anytime, as long as I’m not on a call or in a meeting. There are four individuals that usually show up at my door at some point when they are at our center that want a hug, to ask me questions about my day or night, even asking me what I am going to have for lunch or supper that day. How awesome is that!?

I do not view what I do as a job or a career, it’s a calling and something I see myself doing until such a time that my mind and body require me to retire. My board chairman introduced me to the chairman of another senate bill 40 board and informed that chairman that I was going to be with our board “until Gabriel blows his horn”. I cannot picture doing anything else for the rest of my career. I am the luckiest person in the world to be able to experience these absolutely fabulous men and women on a daily basis. So many of them have helped me see that regardless of how bad a day is, tomorrow is another day and it’s a lot more fun to be happy then frustrated, upset, angry, sad, etc. Every day is a new day to smile, laugh, sing, dance, whatever makes you happy. It is all in our perspective and how we choose to spend our time.