The Early Adult Years (20-40)

     As I type this, I am 36 years old, in the midst of my early adult years.  I can easily say these have been the best years thus far--not always easy, but great years.  At age 20 I was living in Baton Rouge, attending college, and very much independent.  Some would say I was the textbook picture of "infinite energy" with a "notion of invincibility."  I wasn't involved in any of the risky behaviors the text suggests, but did enjoy repelling from cliffs in my college ROTC days.  (I still enjoy wreck diving and black diamond skiing on occasion, but am no daredevil by any means, and always employ extreme safety measures in every "risky" activity I undertake.)  That was the year I met the young woman who would be my wife--an entirely new kind of risk-taking for me, but one I'm very glad I took.

                    

     Jennifer and I dated for three years, and were married in 1998.  We've since had two wonderful sons together and built every facet of our lives together as a team.  She is my scuba buddy, my traveling partner, and my co-adventurer in life.  Most importantly, she is the secure foundation that allows me to venture out boldly in the world.  I can personally attest to the statement in the text that, just as a responsive caregiver encourages exploration in an infant, a responsive partner provides a secure attachment and nurturing foundation for an adult.  With that foundation in place, an adult is more likely to have the motivation and confidence to venture out and try new things (Solmonson 2009).  I like to say my wife is like an aircraft carrier and I am an F-18.  Because of her, I am free to engage the enemy on any front, knowing at the end of the end of the day I can retreat to my globe of invulnerability.  

       That freedom and support have allowed me to pursue and develop expertise in a wide range of professional endeavors over the years.  I received a Bachelor's degree in Cardiopulmonary Science and worked as a Respiratory Therapist for seven years at a university teaching hospital and trauma center.  During that time I also obtained a Masters of Health Sciences, then decided to pursuing a nursing career.  I received a second B.S. in Nursing in 2004, and began working in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, where I am currently a staff nurse.  While there I became an instructor in the Neonatal Rescuscitation Program and one of the few nurses at my facility certified in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).  Within our NICU, I began a program to reduce blindness in neonates through conservative oxygen administration, and with my wife's support, was able to travel to Russia in 2008 to teach that program to physicians in Moscow and St. Petersberg.

      I am currently working on my PhD in Nursing, and involved in developing new theories to address the problems I see every day.  I agree with the text's analysis regarding expertise and creativity.  All the expertise in the world is of little value without the fluid competence to utilize that knowledge in new ways to address any given situation.  Critical thinking skills are the key to this fluid competence and are an integral part of my theory of fluidity, an organizational theory related to fluid dynamics.  I hope to publish that theory next year, along with completing my dissertation on the experiences of fathers in the NICU.

    Whatever I may or may not accomplish in life, I am first and foremost a husband and a father.  My family is my biggest accomplishment, and my biggest blessing-- the safe "home base" that makes all the rest possible.