Introducing myself and my journal

About Me:
I was raised, the youngest of 4 girls in the mid Atlantic coast of the United States. Our household was exclusively women after my father died when I was 5 years old. My sisters, mother and I remain close despite living in different regions of the east coast with our respective families.

My family consists of my husband to whom I have been married 4 months and my son and my husbands two daughters. My son is from the Democratic Republic of Congo-he is technically my foster son but we have a lifelong commitment to one another. He entered the country as a refugee and came to live with me via a program affiliated with the United Nations and the Department of Social Services. That was 4 years ago when he was 17 years old. My son is now in college and flourishing! My husband's two daughters are both in their twenties. One daughter was adopted from Honduras and the other daughter was adopted from Guatemala. They are currently living at home and trying to find their way having completed their educations.

My own career path began after initially studying fine art and art history in college and then realizing that I would need to chose a different path to make my way in the world. I eventually earned a masters of social work and developed a career that utilized this degree in different ways. I have been a social worker for 21 years and consider myself to be among the fortunate few who can say that they love what they do. I currently have a private psychotherapy practice and work with individual adults and couples and also work part-time in the Veterans Administration with Veterans who have mental health issues.