Thank You

by

I want to thank a few people.

My life was a mess for a long time.  It was my fault, but I didn’t see it.  I was unhappy…miserable, even.  I didn’t understand what my purpose was.  I felt lost…trapped in my own life that I didn’t want to be a part of anymore.

I have friends who have been there before everything went down, so I won’t thank all of them in detail here, though I want them to know how much I love and appreciate them.  Now I just want to thank some people who seemed to enter or re-enter my life at the exact right time.

First, Dr. Mike Wuebker.  He is my counselor.  I credit him for saving my marriage.  He was our counselor before Andy and I got married, as I wanted to enter holy matrimony with no unresolved issues, and we had issues.  Dr. Mike is amazing.  There’s no other way to put it.  He is real, down-to-earth…he gets through to people.
 
He got through to me.

I wasn’t completely honest with him for a while. I wasn’t lying, but I was withholding information.  Not even on purpose…I just couldn’t see or face what some of the real problems were.  Though Andy and I have gone together to see him many times, I started going alone for a while, as the issues seemed to center on me.

He’s made me understand what a marriage should be.  I’ve owned up to many things, including my drinking.  I’ve called him at times, when things were going on that couldn’t possibly wait until I got in to see him.  He talked me through my first panic attack, when I was sure I was dying.  

He’s a wonderful counselor, and I recommend him to everyone.  I recommend counseling to everyone…it’s changed my life.  He’s changed my life.  So thank you, Dr. Mike.

I also want to thank Dr. Kent Young.  I met him when I started teaching at a college in Ft. Wayne.  I’d heard people mention his name but had no idea who he was until one day when I was talking to someone in the cubicles and I saw this man with a ponytail and some flavored cigars on his desk.  So, of course, I liked him right away.  

I started talking to him on smoke breaks, and those ten-minute increments changed my life.  Maybe it sounds cheesy…but he’s like an angel sent to Earth…you can’t get to know him and not be changed for the better.  He has given me so many thoughts to ponder…I also credit him with salvaging my marriage, as Andy and I were going through some rocky times when I taught at that school.  You see, Kent isn’t one of those people, who when they ask, “How are you?” and you give the obligatory, “Fine,” in response, they simply accept it and walk away.  Some days when I’d see him and he’d ask, “How are you?” and I would say, “Fine,” he’d say, “You don’t look fine.”  I was transparent to him.  He’s intuitive, and while he’s in general brilliant, he is also highly emotionally intelligent.  He was the one person at work I trusted.
 
I started sitting in on one of his classes, as when I started teaching at this school I had a five-hour break, working a split. Watching him teach is like watching a magician.  A good magician.  He’s not an instructor who puts students to sleep.  He is highly engaging.  I learned a lot.

I recently got to meet his family, and while I got an idea of how special they were whenever he talked about them, I now fully understand it.  His wife is beautiful, as are his children, and his marriage is one which serves as the ideal model for all couples.  Sure, they’ve had problems like the rest of us…but their philosophies on marriage and their faith has bonded them in a way not every couple experiences.  Kent has been one of the biggest influences in my entire life.  I think everything happens for a reason, and I think I met him for a reason.  He’s caused me to grow as a person.  And now I feel so blessed to have met his family…they’ve also changed me for the better.  They are such special people.  Thank you so much, Kent.  And thank you, Janelle, Sophia, and Caleb.

I want to thank Phil Atkins.  First of all, as he always jokingly reminds me, he plucked me from obscurity and made me famous.  Ha…he did offer me the job that’s changed my life more than anything in terms of finding my purpose.  I think I’m still evolving…I think we’re always evolving…but I really did feel lost and unsure…of everything…until he asked me to write for the We Care People.  This is hands down the best job I’ve ever had in my life.  It’s my dream job come true.  

Phil is hilarious.  As hilarious as he is smart, and he’s a genius.  He has a comeback for whatever you throw at him.  I’m pretty good in that department, but I can’t keep up most of the time.  I work for him, but I also consider him a friend.  He’s also dispensed some valuable advice when it comes to marriage (it really does take a village) and he is completely non-judgmental.  He is fabulous.  He’s saved my life.

Now that I work for someone so incredible, I’m just afraid of letting him down…I want to do a great job, something to be proud of…so that’s something that’s ongoing.  I’m just not used to working for someone whose opinion I really value.  It still seems too good to be true that I get to collaborate with such an amazing person, such an amazing team of people.  I feel so lucky.

I’m just feeling very grateful today, and I want the people who have made an impact and a tremendous difference in my life to know that.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.