Wendi Simpson
Stories (4/0)
How to Save Money at Disney
Have you and your family been saving and planning for your Disney World vacation? Have you already checked on ticket and hotel prices? Are you wishing there was a way to save some money and still get the whole Disney experience? Well what if I told you I can give you some basic steps to follow that will help save you money on your Disney vacation! I spend a lot of time at the Disney parks and have learned some pretty easy tricks that help save a little bit of money. Even with a family of five we can spend a day at the parks and not spend a dime.
By Wendi Simpson6 years ago in Wander
When a Parent Is Behind Bars
It is hard enough being a parent to a child with both parents in the picture. But have you ever thought about what it would be like to try to raise a child when the other parent is behind bars? I’m here to tell you I thought being a single mom was hard enough. I had raised my son on my own for most of his life. My son’s biological father was one of those that would pop in and out from time to time. He would show up out of no place then just like that disappear again. Just this past year I finally tracked down my son’s father after almost a year of not hearing from him; our son just four years old at the time. Turns out he was incarcerated, and had been there for the better half of the year. A simple google search helped me find what prison he was located in and gave me an address. So, I wrote him a letter telling him that our son is doing fine, and asking him how he ended up in prison. I received a letter back from him about a week later informing me about how he purposely violated his probation because he wanted to get away from some people and was trying to turn his life around. He told me that he did not think the state attorney would go after him for five years in prison for a simple probation violation. He wanted to know everything about our son, everything that he had been missing, and was so happy that I had tracked him down. I wrote him back telling him that he really messed things up, that I hoped this experience would help him get his life back on a better track, and I told him the things he had missed with our son. Since the first letters we have had a sturdy line of communication. It has taken him to be locked up to actually start acting like the father he should of been from the beginning. At first when I found out where he was, I did not want to tell our son. It took a lot of communication, with my now husband, about if we should even tell my son or if he would be better off not knowing anything. So at four years old we sat my son down and told him where his biological father was. My son did not take this news very well, he had this belief that if he was bad he would end up in jail with his dad. It took a lot of explaining to get it into his young mind that things do not work like that. My son has had a hard time adjusting to the fact that he will not be able to see his real father till after he turns nine. Even though the prison does have a visitation program, my son is not allowed to visit him. The most my son can do is speak to his father on the phone maybe once a week for fifteen minutes. Most days my son doesn’t seem to be to bothered by the fact that his father isn’t around. He has developed such an amazing relationship with his stepfather that from an outside point of view you wouldn’t be able to tell that they aren’t blood. Sometimes though, there are those days that my son tells me he misses his dad and wishes he could see him. Those are the days that I really feel for my son, those are the days I wish a simple hug would take away his hurt. When I think about my son’s father being locked up, I feel bad for him because he is going to miss out on a lot of amazing things over the next five years, there are going to be things that he won’t be able to make up for missing out on. But I hope when he is released that he takes the time to get to know our son, and starts his life over in a better place.
By Wendi Simpson6 years ago in Families
How to Put a Spark Back into Your Marriage After Having Children
Thinking back to when you first started dating your spouse, do you remember that warm fuzzy feeling you used to get every time they would look at you, kiss you, or ever hold you? Do you remember how much fun you had staying up late, talking all night, going to movies, going out dancing, or just going out to dinner? After having children, do you find it harder to make those types of plans with your spouse? Do you sometimes try to find a day and time to just have five minutes alone with one another and it ends up not working out? Well here are a few tips on how to spark some of that fire back into your marriage.
By Wendi Simpson6 years ago in Humans
PTSD in Family Life
When I was 24 years old, I decided to make a change in my life that would lead me down a completely different path. I was a single mother of two boys. I was living at home in my parent's house, working two part time jobs just trying to get by. I was wishing for anything that would allow me to provide a good life for my boys. I decided to go back to school, and become an Emergency Medical Technician. My first time through the program I had a hard time focusing; I ended up not making it past my midterm and had to start the program again. I worked harder the second time and managed to pass everything leaving the program with an A, and feeling really good about myself. I managed to land a job right out of school, with a private ambulance company, that handled emergency calls as well as general transport for the hospitals. I loved it. I was making good money in overtime, and was finally able to save up enough money to move out on my own with my boys. A year after I started working in EMS, I met the man I call my husband, he is a paramedic with 14 years in EMS and has seen more things than I could even imagine. We used to work on an ambulance together from time to time, and between the strokes, gun shots, abuse calls, codes, calls for children, and so many more bad calls, we still managed to make it through the shift. EMS isn't for the faint of heart, you have to control your own emotions for the people you are trying to help. There are those calls in EMS that will forever stick with you. The faces of those that you just couldn't save, that you just couldn't help, that you wish you could of done more for. Almost every EMT and paramedic in the field, no matter what town, state, or country they are in, suffers from some type of PTSD. Trying to manage a home life with a spouse and children while dealing with the effects of PTSD is a challenge within itself. Most EMS providers won't even admit that they have PTSD, or they will say they have it under control. I would know, my husband suffers from PTSD every day, and still tells me he doesn't have it. I have been woken up in the middle of the night to him screaming from having a nightmare of a call that still haunts him, or from him screaming a patient's name repeatedly and telling them in his sleep to stay with him. There are days you can see in his face that something has him looking back in those memories, those memories that could be triggered from anything as simple as something that is being said to something that was just seen on TV. Even on medication the effects of PTSD can still be seen in many EMS providers; effect such as burn out, distancing themselves, and sometimes even aggression towards the people around them. PTSD isn't something that should be taken likely, it should be addressed, and those suffering from it should seek help. Friends and family members of all EMS providers should be made aware of the signs and symptoms of PTSD, and should offer a safe place for EMS providers that may be suffering from PTSD.
By Wendi Simpson6 years ago in Psyche