A little bit about this "Twingles Mom"

I am a twingles mom.  A mom, to 9 year old boy/girl twins and a 6 year old daughter, living in the suburbs of Northern Virginia.  I also call myself mom to a yellow lab, our first furry baby who is 14 years old and battling arthritis and Cushing's Disease.  I am also a wife, married for so many years, that I've forgotten how long.  We met in college as Hokies, then dated five years before getting hitched.  My hubby had to make sure that I was the stuff that fairy tales are made of.  I can only remember our wedding anniversary because we adopted our furry baby, the summer before we celebrated our first year of marriage.  I have hopes, dreams, and aspirations to do big things besides living life in suburbia.  I ignore the fact that my birthday is creeping up on me and screaming "you are too old for these types of thoughts to be floating in your head!  You should be thinking about how you are going to strategically get rid of those ten laundry piles and planning your meals for the week instead!" 

I am very good at ignoring the negative thoughts.  So good actually, I tell myself that I can do these crazy things, like run a marathon.  And then run another 26.2.  And another...My goal this year is to be inducted into the "Marathon Maniac's" club.  I have to thank my fellow WhyMarathon Team Ambassadors for this idea.  I thought I was a nutty until I met them.  There are twenty plus WM Team Ambassadors and each one of us has a passion to RUN.  Their stories are inspiring and only make me want to run faster and better and farther.  One day a 50K race will be in my future.  To read their stories, visit http://www.whymarathon.com/ambassadors/  Some of us are still working on the WM Team Ambassador paperwork (like me) and aren't official on the webpage yet!  I'll be sure to post when my "WhyMarathon" story is published on the webpage!  Some of my friends say I inspire them to run or to focus on being the best they can be.   I have a hunch that their significant others probably do not like me so much because of the ridiculous amount of hours a runner has to put into training in order to consider themselves an endurance athlete.

So about those crazy things I tell mysef I can do.  A life coach would say those are POSITIVE thoughts entering my brain.  I even tell myself such things as go after your dream job, even though you have never been employed as a fundraiser.  My parents paid good money for my Master's degree in Social Work.  My speciality is crisis therapy and grieving.  For ten years I devoted myself to working at a local Level One hospital in the Emergency Department.  I have put in many hours of overnight shifts and weekend mornings, helping the families of trauma patients, piece life back together, after their world came apart in one instant.  As I became more skilled, I soon realized it is not the words you say but it is the mere fact that you are present and letting the family grieve and just BE.  And now here I am, three months into a complete career change, working for an organization I feel passionately about, The March of Dimes. 

I have been a guest blogger for DullesMoms.com for almost two years now!  My blog is posted right now on their website: "Confessions of a Trauma Social Worker."  Check it out: http://www.dullesmoms.com/GuestBloggers.html 
I also have the official title of Herndon Family Balance Examiner at the Examiner.com
http://www.examiner.com/family-balance-in-arlington/amy-fitzgerald

But tonight, I write past the midnight hour, my very first official blog, for the world.  I'll be honest.  I'm a little terrified.  I am totally, completely, utterly, exposing myself.  But heck, I'm adventurous like that, so I hope you will join me on my blogging journey. I have always wanted to write since I was a little girl in pigtails.  I've been writing short stories, poetry, journal entries, ever since I learned cursive.  I now have two novels in the works.  Writing is my way of dealing with the world.  Analyzing, twisting, spinning, until the words jump out of my soul.  And then I discovered running two years ago.  How blessed I am that I have not one, but two outlets to figure out what this thing called "life" is all about.  All the money I save from not having to go to therapy, I donate it to my March for Babies family team. http://www.marchforbabies.org/AFitzgerald3

I am passionate about my life, compassionate for those less fortunate, gravitate towards helping others find a path to healing, believe in kindness, friendship and love, and participating in fabulously fun activities with friends and family.  I have a weakness for sunsets, rainbows, and full moons.  I am a Taurus and very connected to the Earth and the vast sky above.

Oh!  And my friends think I am LUCKY because I win a lot of stuff.  Just not the mega millions lottery, even though I bought ten tickets in VA and five in DC!  I should have saved my money for a cute running top.

Since I am new to this blogging thing, please be patient!  Feel free to give me suggestions on how to make this more fun for you!  (I am wondering how I post pictures?) And I'd love to hear blogging suggestions!  So let's give it a whirl and see what happens!  And if you want come along for the ride, hit the button that says "subscribe."  I'd be super appreciative!