My Soap Box

I didn't really have anything to say about what happened in our lives today. I thought I would write about something I have started to do that not everyone knows about.

A couple months ago I took a mediation class. No, not meditating where you sit around cross legged and hum. This is a class where you learn how to help people who are in a dispute come to a resolution without having to go to court. The course I took was for the family side of court. You can also take a class for civil disputes and issues, but I am not interested in that part of the legal system at all. I am now a certified court mediator. Which basically means, the court/judges can appoint me to a case that needs a mediator. I can also go out and get my own business not involving the court system as well. I have been shadowing our lawyer when he does mediation's. I have been trying to go to as many as I can to get a feel for "real life" situations, because every single one is very different.

I have always struggled with what "I want to be when I grow up". I had so many different interests and paths I could choose. I took a spiritual gifts test and even took a class when I attended Central Michigan to try to help me discover what areas and professions I would really enjoy. I was still coming up empty handed with what I truly felt I wanted to do, until now.

I am so thankful (although sometimes I don't feel like it) to God for bringing Matt and I through this custody situation. I feel like this entire thing has taught me what I want to be and where I want to go with a career. I am so passionate about helping other people who are stuck in the same situation. I want to help them try to reach a resolution before having to go through court. Mostly, I am very excited that I can be an advocate for the children during these times. Even when the cases I will mediate won't always get settled at least I will have a chance to talk candidly with the parents about what matters most in these situations and give them resources to make this as easy on the kids as possible.

My dream is to someday be busy enough to open up my own office. As the years go on and I get more experience and more knowledge of the court system (than I already do...argh!), I would really like to start doing something to make changes in the legal system regarding the divorce process. I really want to make it better for everyone involved, but especially for the children. I feel that there are many things the court system could do differently in those aspects. I also would like to start looking into and becoming an advocate/spokesperson for equal rights to both parents.