Monday, July 5, 2010

Live The Life You've Imagined

Having been raised in a single parent family, my mother gave me the insight and fortitude to get a good education and make a career for myself, a career that could support a family if left to do so on my own.

When that fateful day happened to me just one week before Meagan’s fifth birthday I made a promise to myself that I would raise both of my children to be the best that they could be, to always support one another and “have each other’s backs”; after all it was now going to be just the three of us. From that day forward my entire focus was to make sure Meagan received the best education that I could give her to make the best career choice to be able to support herself . I became obsessed with giving her all the tools she needed to choose the best career path and vowed that somehow, some way I would put her through post secondary education. Fate had a hand in this goal of mine and Dale came into our lives.

Through dedication and a lot of hard work Meagan made her dream possible; in 2006 she graduated from the University of Lethbridge with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and headed off to England to work for a year as a Special Needs Assistant at Kennel Lane School in Bracknell. In the Spring of 2007 she applied and was accepted into the Speech &Language Therapy Program at the University of Reading, England; one of 3 international students. I cannot begin to comprehend the time and hard work that Meagan put into these two years and I cannot tell you how proud I am of what she has accomplished. In 2009 she graduated with honorable mention with her Masters degree in Speech & Language Therapy and was immediately offered two positions working with children as an SLT. She chose the one in Harlow and she and Jake found a beautiful flat in Wanstead, London. She is just finishing up her first year of work and has surpassed both her and her employer’s expectations. I know that she is appreciative of all the support, both emotional and financially, that we have given her and I am proud that she is on the right track with her whole amazing life ahead of her. I have accomplished what I set out to do, but I did not do it alone and the only person that deserves the credit for achieving this goal is Meagan. I love you more than words can express. It is now time for you to

            “live the life you’ve imagined”

1 comment:

Maureen said...

A wonderful tribute to your daughter, Dale and yourself. You are proud and should be!! And I discovered something more about my new friend!!