Sioux Falls Photographer - Following My Dreams

Morning (or evening depending on when you are reading this or where you are geographically located) all!  I have an announcement that may not be a surprise to some and may be more of one to others.  For those who don't know, you may feel a bit like this after you read my post: 

For those who do, just resume breaking your fast and read on calmly.  For those who don't, put your fork down a minute, then resume eating as well since I'm going to be a pain and break away from the narrative a moment to build back story and suspense, otherwise known as ticking people off.

It has always been my dream to own my own business.  I think I have wanted this since I was about five years old when it struck me as just a plain good idea to be in charge of myself since a) I'm extremely introverted, b) I wouldn't wish it upon anyone else and c) I'm so damn good at it!  Seriously, it really has been my dream to own my own business for most of my adult life and for the past year and a half I have been working very hard to turn that dream into a reality.
However, just having my own business wasn't enough.  I wanted that business to be a creative endeavor I was extremely passionate about.  I majored in film at uni and took photography while there.  I have always been in love with telling stories.  I am an avid writer and the reason photography appealed to me was that I always felt like, if done in the right way, you can twist a powerful tale in just one still image.  The look on someone's face, the placement of a hand, the lines in someone's face, the movement or stillness of the object of focus in your shot, the colors, the objects, every single item in a frame of a picture helps contribute to the story.  It is amazing, breathtaking and inspiring and I feel blessed every time I am invited to pick up my camera and participate in someone's story.

However, after a long time working hard at two jobs, it is time to say goodbye to one and that is what I'm here to do today.  For the past five years I have had the honor and privilege of working beside some of the greatest people I've ever met.  The providers, nurses, techs, and of course, my beloved front desk and office staff at Maternal Fetal Medicine have made five years seem like one and it is going to be hard to say goodbye.  I truly feel that everyone in our office works incredibly hard and that they do it for all the right reasons: our patients, each other and the integrity of a job well done.  The people I work with are dedicated, talented, fun and pretty much just plain awesome. 

I have a special place in my heart for the midwives.  I'm pretty sure that if it hadn't been for them, I may never have had a baby.  The midwives have been mine (all mine!) to schedule for in the past five years and I am so glad I was given them to work for.  I don't think a better match could have been made and I will not lie when I say it is incredibly difficult for me to hand them over to someone else.  I feel a very strong connection to all of them and everything they do and if I could shout from the rooftops all day long to all women that they deserve the excellent and personalized care that our midwives provide, I would (though that wouldn't leave me with much time for taking pictures)!  To all of the midwives, thank you so much for everything you have taught me over the years, thanks for letting me participate in what you do through Centering and talking with and getting to know your patients.  Thanks especially to my midwife, Terry Engelmann, for putting up with my two week overdue pregnancies, my long and crazy births and thank you more than I can say for helping me bring the most precious beings in my life into this world and for having confidence in my ability to do so (no matter what I said in labor).

Thank you to the doctors and nurses who have also taught me so much.  Thanks for being patient with me while I learned and thanks for not firing me when I screwed up!  I am amazed at the kindness and incredible dedication of our doctors and nurses.  I love the fact that they remain humble in what they are allowed to participate in, that they are always learning in order to give their patients the best care possible and that they have the mind set that nothing is 100% so you can't rule something out, you have to keep hope because you just never know.  This is so important where we work and I recognize that it is incredibly rare in the medical field.  It is one of the things I love most and will miss most about the clinic.

Thank you ultrasound techs for being so fun and upbeat and dedicated and amazing at what you do.  You put up with a lot and you work so hard and if I had enough money to buy you all a massage a week for the rest of your lives, I would cause you most certainly deserve it!

Front desk girlies - and this includes you, Renae, no matter where you are - what can I say except I love you!  I love that you are just as dedicated as any of the providers in the clinic, I love that you go above and beyond always, I love that you strive every day to give each patient the best care. 

Even on those days when we are pushed to feeling like this:
   

Especially on those days when we feel like doing this to patients that are being difficult or to each other when we're being difficult:

I love that I have been able to be myself, goofy and laid back most the time, serious and darn right moody at others.  I love that I can sing and dance when no one is looking and maybe make your day a little better.  I love that we can talk about everything.  I love that we have each other's backs and are willing to help each other in whatever way we can.  I love that we all have the same work ethic and that patients are what matters most to us no matter how many times we are told to worry about stats, time, etc etc, blah blah blah.  I love your dedication to the job and to each other.  I pretty much just love you guys.
And I won't lie.  I love that if I showed up to work like this you wouldn't bat an eye! (In fact, I'm pretty sure I have shown up to work like this at one time or another)!

I couldn't finish this post without thanking the incredible patients, the amazing and strong women, I have had the privilege to work for and get to know for the past five years.  Most of you I know on some level or another and many of you have become friends.  All of you have taught me something and all of you have given me the gift of loving being a woman.  I think women have a special bond, a community we build with each other, that is unique and special.  Just being a woman starts it, but I think time, wisdom and becoming mothers strengthens it.  I am constantly in awe of the wonderful things we do for each other and the amazing ability we have to build confidence and strength in each other, to lift each other up when we're down, to encourage when we need it, to laugh with each other when joy demands it.  It truly is incredible and working in a clinic like MFM has opened that up to me in a way I don't know I would have had if I hadn't had this job. 

Thank you to every single person that has come into my life and distinctly changed it while I had the joy of working at Maternal Fetal Medicine these past five years.  I love you all and will miss you incredibly!  My hat off to each and every one of you!

Now, after all that sappiness and love, I am still PRN so you aren't completely rid of me yet!  Wahahahahahaha!