My Choice of Username?

I thought the name "counselormom" to be a fitting user ID. Since I was "mom" to my children, and surrogate "mom" to many of their friends I combined this title with the job title that was given to my by my employer.

I retired from the Department of Corrections in November, 2008. For many years, I was employed as a counselor dealing with the problems associated with probationers and prisoners. It was an interesting job, to say the least. I finally came to understand that I was using some of the same tactics with my counselees as I did at home with my three children! While their problems dealt primarily with the criminal justice system, most of them had underlying issues carried over from their childhood. I spent most of my "waking" hours talking, counseling and occasionally admonishing these young men and women. Some of them I came to know quite well--too well, in fact! It was an arduous task, often combining my last ounce of patience. There were many who were repeat offenders, but once in a while, there was also a success story or two.

Retiring didn't end my career as a counselor. I still am placed in situations where my "counseling" skills are required. I guess after you do something for so long, it becomes second nature.