Fri day, Apri l 13, 2012
C het w y nd Echo
Itʼs never too late in life to try Continued from page 20
The “snap decision” to apply for nursing happened on a drive to Fort Nelson last year with Chris. They were listening to a radio podcast. “It was saying if you could meet yourself in the future in an alternate universe, would you have anything to explain? Would you have any regrets? I said to my husband, the only regret that I have in my life is that I’m not a nurse.” Chris told her, “Do it. It’s time. There’s no more reason for you to not to do it.’” Lirette couldn’t wait to get back to Chetwynd and apply. She went on the waiting list and had to retake high school biology and chemistry regardless of her decent high school grades.
When her acceptance notice arrived, Lirette didn’t believe it and kept calling to make sure there was no mistake. “They know me by name now,” said Lirette. Six months in, Lirette’s life is all about school. Her priorities are far different from the 20 something leaving home and experiencing a frosh year. “As a mature student you have to leave your kids behind, you have to leave your husband behind…the family sacrifice is not to be taken lightly, said Lirette. “My husband misses me and my daughter grew up while I wasn’t looking. That’s the biggest thing, I can’t wait to come back home.” For the first six months, Lirette lived in Dawson Creek residence from Monday to Friday. Each
day she spent in class or studying from 5:30am until 6pm. Saturday and Sunday, she worked until 4pm. “For 12 and a half hours or more, my brain was on.” While she’s attracted to a busier lifestyle, the stress level was monumental she said. Her daughter Josey says she aged 10 years in the last six months. “I feel that aged me. That much stress is really intense. I didn’t know what I was capable of at that time, but I’ve set into a rhythm now. My confidence is a lot higher now.” When Lirette gets home, she enjoys homemade cakes, steak dinners and clean laundry from her kids and her husband. “My husband has been amazing.” Chris, her “biggest cheer leader,” has their son Aarik doing laundry and
helping cook. “They’re doing all the house work now. I don’t have to lift a finger.” When they lived in Vancouver, Chris commuted to Richmond and missed much of the formative years with the kids, said Lirette. “He feels like now he’s recapturing a lot of what was lost and he likes that. After 25 years of marriage Lirette says school may have even made their marriage better. “I see he’s there for me and I think we appreciate each other a whole lot more… I’ve had a couple breakdowns where I’ve cried about things and he’s very, very good at listening to me.” While Lirette’s ready to tackle anything thrown her way, she’s not looking forward to giving injec-
tions. “I’m afraid of needles. I don’t like to see them. It’s making me uncomfortable just talking about it.” But when the time comes, she says she’ll approach the skill with the same professionalism and determination she called upon to change a colostomy bag every day for six weeks. “But I am loving it. I do I love it,” she adds. Lirette and her family hope to live in Nova Scotia, but for now, she already has a summer job as a care aid. There’s no doubt she knows what she wants. “I’ll talk to anybody I need to talk to. I’ll be the first one there. I’ll be he loudest one.” Lirette says often the battle to trying is in our heads. “If you think you’re unable to do it, then basically you’ve lost the battle.” For those who think it’s too late in life to try, Lirette disagrees. “If you’re happy where you are now, good. That’s great. Enjoy it. But if you’ve got a spark in you and you’ve missed something that you’ve really, really always wanted to do and you don’t think you can do it, there’s nothing – there’s no way that you can not do it.” A Stats Can study showed more women are graduating with post-secondary degrees. “Women have made substantial gains in education over the last few decades and are now more likely to have a university degree than men. In 2006, for every 100 women aged 25 to 49 with a university degree, there were 84 men
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with the same level of education.” While going back to school as a mature student is gaining acceptance, having children later in life is the opposite side of the discussion. In North America, more women are putting off having children to advance their careers. Though it may be risky business health-wise, professional women still want the option. In a recent article in the Ottawa Citizen, TV executive Cari Rosen, 48 did the reverse plan of Lirette; she had her first child later in life and was criticized for her late parenthood move. She says the timing works now. "I didn't meet someone I wanted a child with until I was 39. Before that, the question was: 'Do you have a child with someone you don't want to spend the rest of your life with — or do you cross your fingers that you will meet the right person?' People say it's selfish, but it seems to me more selfish to bring a child into a relationship that is not right. I think some women do make that compromise." While women in North America experience more freedom than many countries around the world, the day celebrates all women in their uniqueness, allowing them to consider what they can bring to the circle. Tawakkol Karman spoke at an International Women’s Day event in Washington with Michelle Obama, and said "Women around the world you have to trust yourselves. Without you, your community could not achieve their dreams.” Karman won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011.