I'm Madonna......I live in Somerset, MA with my wife and 16 year old son. It feels awesome to write that......25 years ago when I met my wife that wouldn't have been possible.....first because there were no such things as blogs, (or even the internet for that matter) but more importantly because being a lesbian woman in a committed relationship was not something that you felt safe publicizing. For me this change has been a huge step, but when examining the "Movement(s)" for equality this is really only one small step of many that still need to be taken. It is the need for small steps like this that inspired the name for my blog, because when you add up all of our collective small steps we can make BIG CHANGE!
I have spent the past 20 years teaching 4,5, and 6 yr. old children at a preschool in Middletown, RI. While this work has been rewarding for me and I feel I have given hundreds of children a positive start on their educational journeys, I feel drawn to social work because of the daily injustices served upon hundreds of thousands of kids in our country and beyond. Yes, child welfare is my area of interest, particularly working to strengthen families to build strong foundations for children. This semester's topic of violence against women is very relevant to the work I have been doing at my internship at DCF. It is mind-boggling to view firsthand the impact that domestic violence and substance abuse have on child welfare. It is impossible to view each separately; as unique issues in need of attention - they are so intertwined in the fabric of many of the families involved with DCF. I think that communities can play an important role in the strengthening of these families. By removing the stigma associated with DCF involvement and providing resources in a family's community to build and strengthen their functioning, positive changes can be achieved. There is more truth to the old saying, "It takes a village....." and working together as that village I believe we can make this world safer for our children. If I could solve one major social problem it would be to make sure each child in the United States has a family to call their own. There are so many people out there who would love to offer a home to some of these children, but in some states there are still laws banning families from forming as a result of the potential parents sexual orientation. So many kids are lost in our foster care system and upon aging out have no one to turn to, no one to care about them......they spend much of their childhood under the state's care and then are basically left to navigate the world on their own. Not too many parents I know would do that to their own children, yet the state as a "parent", does it over and over again.
This semester I hope to continue to grow as an advocate for women and children. I am hoping to learn new ways that I can make a difference, to build a tool box of skills that I can rely on in my future work. Macro practice is somewhat new to me, but I am excited to get my feet wet in this area.......I was able to test the waters a bit last semester (with a trip to Occupy Boston, attending a meeting of the new Social Justice Institute here at BSU and marching at World Aid's Day) and was pleased with the feeling of purpose I felt. I was initially hesitant with the online format of this class, due to some less than pleasant experiences with online classes in the past, but I decided to take a chance and be optimistic. This class will be a success for me if I am able to interact with the other students in the class frequently. My past experiences have left me frustrated when students wait until the last minute to complete assignments that required my input...... the give and take between student and instructor and student and student is what I enjoy most about being in classes. I am hopeful this will be able to be achieved within this format.....I think we all have so much to teach each other!
For me, having fun often involves being outside. I love to take walks on cold, snowy winter nights when the world is peaceful or on warm sandy beaches at sunset. I will wake up in the morning before everyone else, just to enjoy a beautiful sunrise. I could swim for hours and I love to cook. For me a challenge is making a terrific meal from simple ingredients one wouldn't typically put together......think CHOPPED goes low budget. Something no one knows about me but might find interesting is that I have a secret desire to be a race car driver..... but rollercoasters make me sick. I have a secret dream of spending an entire winter on Nantucket (though I've never been) and writing.....what I will write I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure I would write something fantastic! Of course since I fancy myself an amateur photographer I would of course document all of it with my Nikon. I'm not sure I can come up with one more thing that is interesting about me.....I guess I don't really find myself terribly interesting......I'm just a regular, down-to-earth person living a regular everyday kind of life. However, if I were granted a super power, I think I would want to be able to clone myself so I could accomplish everything I want to do without sacrificing my time with my family. My realistic dream job would be continuing to work with DCF, but my secret dream job would place me in the manager's office at Fenway Park! I would love to be the manager of the Boston Red Sox........what better way to spend a spring and summer (and hopefully early fall) than putting together a winning team igniting the passion within Red Sox Nation?
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