New Job, new world, new life!

I finally feel that I am breathing again. I never realized how much staying at the shelter was holding me back from doing greater things. I can now rehab more wildlife and still continue to foster underage kittens. I also work as a Park Naturalist at a Nature Center. I educate kids and the general public on the environment and wildlife in general. I teach at schools and participate in an array of summer camps etc.... I feel like I have more room to grow where I'm at and don't feel so restricted. I finally have that perfect balance between work and my relationship with Hubby. When work starts to interfere too much with your family relationships then it's a sign that something needs to change.

I am so happy. I thought I was happy at the shelter but I didn't really know what happiness was until I got to where I'm at now. I have always wanted to work with wildlife in general and not so much domestic animals - and now I get to do just that; with my wildlife rehabilitator license and a job where I can go take a hike in the woods and work with other native wildlife!

So much has been going on in the past 6-7 months that I barely have time to actually sit down and recap! But it's a good thing. I'm kept busy and I have a lot of little lives to care for right now and it is truly rewarding. I have an awesome support system with people willing to donate to me and help me out with my wildlife and fosters. God has really provided everything I need to make me feel whole. I could always feel a tug in the direction of environmental science but I needed a push - and that non-disciplinary separation was just the push I needed. Yeah, it didn't feel great the way they went about it and I was even told to re-apply for my position again when my back injury was healed. But I told myself then that I wasn't going back.

This all still feels like a dream. I remember walking into the Park Ranger office seeing them in uniform; cargo pants, tan shirt, hiking boots and a park ranger hat was like walking into a childhood dream. And now I'm wearning that uniform. Who knows what's going to happen? When I was a kid in school I LOVED it when people who worked at zoos/parks/nature centers etc did career days - but I never thought I could be one of them. And now here I am - doing career days at schools with kids who have the same excitement as I did when I was in elementary school.