My First Career

“Not everybody knows this
-I don’t talk about it much-
is my first career.

You may know me as a Counselor,
Organizer, Mentor, Psychotherapist.
Author, Poet, Course Creator.

But, what you may not know
Is,
I was first a military spouse,
Stay At Home Mom (SAHM),
Community Volunteer.

What I’d like to focus on today
is
My life before the breech.

I was a dedicated Mom,
Homeschooler, 4H Club creator/organizer,
Quilter, Baker, women’s leader/teacher.

I operated lock-step in line
With what I’d been taught
How I saw the World.

Was wrapped-up in family,
the church, honor, dedication,
faith, loyalty.

I volunteered at church-
Sunday School teacher for
infants-so mothers could
have some adult time.
Getting the babies started
experiencing God’s provision
and goodness.

I taught Vacation Bible School-
not the director position my mother
and younger sister preferred-
but 3rd grade or 4th
Over-planning to meet the
Spiritual/Physical/Emotional
needs of middle childhood.

I ran the Women’s Ministry
making sure there were classes,
activities, and enrichment in
the lives of wives, moms, volunteers.

In fact, to get my first job in
20 years I used a reference
from the children’s programs
leader-a woman so she
couldn’t be called a Minister.

It was my life.

I’m glad I had those years.
Reading aloud Bible, US History,
Living Books for “Unit Studies,”
Organizing meal prep, household
chores, pet care, social outlets,
project plans, and living
through Human Growth and
Development – a class title
on my Master’s program in Counseling
that came much later.

My children and I made fabric
Projects, candy making, the culture
of Beatrix Potter, candle making,
Biology lab on the kitchen
island.

Archery, Mission Trips, Bible
Camps, Water World, making
play dough; and food 3x a day,
plus snacks 365/7 for 25 years.

It’s a piece of my heart.
A time cherished – set apart
Sacred.
My heart space.
Pivotal
It turned out to me.

I don’t talk about it much.
What ended this phase was
a world view collapse.
You know,
The trauma that
You can’t unsee.

And, I split.
How could this and that (!)
be true.
How could everything I counted
on as true
be suspect.

I could not make sense of it.
While at the same time…..

Throwing myself into making
A career
One that came with resources
To pay living expenses.
You know, to make a living.

Which I had never had to do before.
So, I set off.
I left it behind:
I pivoted.
I prioritized.
I worked.
I excelled.

And, I left it all behind.

the application of it.
The doing began to look different.

That was 17 years ago
or so.

I just read an article in the
Guidepost magazine
About a mother leaving a house
Where she reared her children.

And, I cried.
It’s time
To stitch up the truth.
To sew together
That me
And
This.”

Valerie Bringas Montgomery
June 3, 2022

This is also the week also between my parents birthdays:
Nicholas William Bringas May 28, 1929. D. 2011
Lettie Jeanette Harris Bringas June 4, 1935. D 2020