Our Daughter, the Snake Handler

I am always talking about how wonderful the Wunder Kids are but I really should take a minute to talk about their mother. Today is her 42nd birthday and while I am sure that she probably will be mortified that I am telling everyone her age, she will just have to bear with me even if it is her special day. She was born while Captain Mark and I were still kids ourselves and in spite of us, not necessary because of us, she grew up to be a very wonderful mother, wife, sister, daughter, teacher, medical practice manager, special education advocate and dear friend to many. She has the patience of Job and I don’t think that I have ever heard her raise her voice in anger since those couple of minutes when as a teenager she wanted to stay out later than we thought was necessary.

As parents when our children are small we tell them that they can be whatever they wish to be as adults. I think this was especially true of my generation while raising daughters as the employment gender barriers imploded. Education and going to college was never an option in our household it was an expectation. The rule was always that as parents we would be responsible for the undergraduate degree but both Sam and Beth were on their own for advanced degrees. We were fortunate enough to be able to keep our end of the bargain as did both girls.

Sam is a teacher by education and training but instead of getting a Master’s degree in education, she choose to become certified in each grade level and almost every subject from pre-school through grade 12. I think the only subject that she is not eligible to teach in any of these grades is art.


She called us very excited one day last fall to tell her father and me that she had just obtained THE best job of her life – one that tops all the educational jobs that she has done previously and one for which she was immensely trained. She was hired by one of the best zoological parks in the Midwest as an educational liaison. Now I have been her mother for a long time so I cut through the fancy jargon and said “So what…you are going to be a snake handler!?” Samantha giggled and stated that “Yes indeedy, she would be the Jack Hanna for the northern tundra of Indiana. That she would be ever so cool as she drove the Zoo Mobile.”
She later told us that the snake was just fine to handle but the owl was pesky. As if to prove her point, we received the above photo within a few days of her call. AND we could not be prouder of our daughter, the snake handler. AND YES, she can be whatever she wishes when she grows up.. Happy Birthday, Sam!