Taking credit for success

I worked in a university library for nearly 8 years and while there employed many young men and young women. These amazing young people became more than employees to me, they became my surrogate children. Many parents sent their children away to college and I felt that I needed to be there to take care of these kids for the parents who couldn't be there physically for their children. The hard part was they would graduate or get married and have children of their own and leave, much like our own children grow up and leave the nest. The upside is that a few of these stellar young people who have grown into amazing young adults have kept in close touch with me. They have continued to care about me long after the employee/employer relationship ended. I had two of them come visit me at my home on saturday. It was so much fun to catch up on their lives and just converse with them as friends. I realized as they left that I did a pretty good job taking care of these young people through the years. I really loved them and wanted the best for them. Although it was always hard to say goodbye to them, I always shared in their joy at graduation, weddings, babies, etc.

The hardest thing for me when the illness hit was to leave my student employees behind. I know they understood and wanted what was best for me, but that separation was truly a difficult sticking point for me. It took me realizing that I needed to care about myself and get myself healthy so that I could be there for my own grown children, my husband, my mom and especially my grandchildren to make me take the steps I needed to take to get on the road to battling this illness. I am still working on it, but good days are winning over bad!