| What I've been up to since 1982... |
| "Fair Janet"- midi arranged by Lesley Nelson |
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| Wedding Day 1994 -picture taken by Regina (McCartney)Pratt |
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| David and Janet-2001 |
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| After graduating high school, I went on to complete my education in college where I earned a Liberal Arts Degree. In 1989, after several part-time (forgettable jobs!), I began to work for Green Circle Growers full-time where I started out as a basic laborer. In 1990, I got a wonderful opportunity to work with the hybridizer who was creating new African violets. When he passed away with cancer in 1991, a new hybridizer was hired in, and though I worked with him for another year as a secretary and assistant, our personalities clashed and I eventually moved out of the department where I became a grower’s assistant. As a growers assistant I began to learn all about how to care for greenhouse plants, including how to spot for and treat diseases, and pests. I was given a lot of independence in this job, which I really enjoyed, and I had a wide range of very important duties and responsibilities. I was considering career advancement in 1996, to become a grower, when fate stepped in and changed my plans. I had met my husband, meanwhile, in 1991 through a co-worker of mine that I had become good friends with and we married in 1994. (David knew my friend, Shelley and her husband, Travis, since their high school days. They stood up with us at our wedding and remain our closest, and dearest friends today.) We decided to start a family right away, but didn't realize that even the best-laid plans can go terribly wrong. (To learn more, please go to my PCOS story.) Long story short, my health intervened, so I decided to terminate my position. Since then I have been learning to live a different life. My career choice now is a domestic engineer where I am the head of household affairs, accountant, chief cook, lawn maintenance engineer, and groundskeeper, and social activities director! For over a year now, I have also been an on-line counselor on two websites where I provide information and support for PCOS and diabetes as well as providing support for women who have had miscarriages. My husband David, a 1980 graduate of South Amherst, is a computer tech and telecommunications specialist at Ameritech (SBC). He is also an Air Force Veteran, having served 8 1/2 years as a telecommunications technician. David is indeed my soul mate. I was very lucky to have met him! Through our infertility struggles we have bonded even closer as a couple. The biggest advantage to being childfree is that we can devote all of our love, attention, and affection on one another. "What does not kill us, makes us stronger"! We are a family, just we two! (Not to say we wouldn't welcome an addition to our family with open arms!) I have various hobbies that keep me very busy; among them is my first love, writing. A friend of mine and I are still working on a fiction novel that we first began jointly back 17 years ago in college! (Actually it has become more of a series of novels than just one, as we cannot seem to end it!) David and I also enjoy collecting and antiquing as well as gardening, crafting, and spending time with our "child", Gandalf, the Grey (our cat). We also enjoy spending time with our family and friends. Presently we reside in Elyria where we are remodeling our 1954 ranch-style home and saving to buy a piece of property in the country so we can build our dream home, a Queen Anne Victorian. I have learned to live life one day at a time, enjoying each day to the fullest, and appreciating the simple things life has to offer. I have learned that money and career do not define me as a person, but how I choose to live my life does. I am committed to helping others, and sharing my experiences with those who are also going through the same trials. I wouldn't trade the love and support I receive from helping others for any amount of money or job title in the world! |