Comments:
After high school, I continued working at the hospital and also Citizens Bank both part-time. I soon became a mother of a son and four years later, we had a daughter and life became much more hectic. I stayed home for a few years raising our children and working part-time and on a call-in basis with both the hospital and the bank. I did this for 10 years and then decided it was time to get a real job. I knew whatever I did, it would need to be very flexible with my kids. They are the most important things in my life. Nicholas was a fourth grader and Makayla was entering kindergarten when I started working full-time at Martinsville High School. Yes, MHS, the place most of us never wanted to re-enter again once we left. I started out as the Assistant Principal’s Secretary to Mrs. Jill Keller and Mr. Randy Taylor. It was a great job. After several years of administrative changes, I decided I needed a change. I stayed with the school system, made a lateral change and became the Bookstore Manager, which is my current position. I love it. I work the exact same hours that my kids are in school. So, I still get to take them where they need to be and be home with them after school and all those school holidays and days off. This was very important to us because we did not have very good luck with childcare in the past.
Chad is a captain on the Martinsville Fire Department, where he has worked for 20 years. He works 24 hours and then is off for 48 hours. He needs something to keep him busy on those other two days. So, I call him a Jack-of-all-trades. We own Cooke’s Grasscutting and Maintenance where he does landscaping in the summer and snow removal in the winter at his leisure. He also works for Neal & Summers Mortuary when they need him. He just cannot sit still and read a book like me when I have time.
We are very proud of our children. Nicholas started playing baseball, basketball and football as soon as he could be on a team. He played all through elementary and middle school and by the time he got to high school, he knew what he was best at. That was football. He kept us very busy with all of these things. He is now in college at Ivy Tech Indianapolis and wants to become a firefighter like his dad. He is a volunteer firefighter at Green Township Fire Dept. Makayla will tell you that she has been a “princess” all her life. She has been involved in cheerleading since she was four. She’s been in gymnastics, dance, tennis, and basketball. She also, thought she was going to be a great basketball player but she could never make a shot. Makayla is in 10th grade at MHS and so far cheerleading is her only “sport”. She is a very social person and likes to be center of attention.
Our family loves boating, tubing, jet skiing, swimming, camping, snow skiing, 4 wheeling, hunting and traveling and we go as much as we can. The kids have been to at least 20 different states visiting and doing many different things. It is very nice having most of the summer off to be with the kids.
