Hi! My name is Robyn Madsen. I live in Auburn, California but I have lived in many other places also. I really don't have a place that I come from because I am an Air Force brat and my family didn't stay in one spot any longer than 2 years at a time. Growing up this way was really hard on me, especially when I started high school, but at the same time I have seen much of the United States and I have a real understanding of how many cultural differences that there are even within our own country. The most important things to me are my family, my faith, and the children that I teach everyday. I have the great responsibility of raising up other people's children and I understand the impact that I will have on their lives. So, it is my resposibility to teach them that even though our friends may look different or speak differently, we all have feelings, we all want to have friends, and we all want to be OK just as we are.
My identity, in my mind, is that of a conservative middle class American. My life, my path, just as many others that have been around as long as I have, has changed several times in my life. I have had three career changes, which sent me into three different directions. My first career was in fashion merchandising of fine men's clothing. I found myself in a man's world, as a clothier, swimming upstream in a river full of men. This is where I learned about the great discrimination of women before men. This career path taught me how to communicate with men, in a man's world, and how to stand resilient when needed. My second career was in the ownership of a health club. I really became sensitive, while owning the club, to the hard words and thoughts that others have against people who are heavy or that don't meet the criteria of what the world thinks we should all look like. Even to this day, I have real compassion for those who struggle with their weight. My identity, now, is as a teacher. Because my students are little children, I understand how important it is to teach them to appreciate each other and the gifts each has. I have known discrimination and I try hard to teach them, while they are young, that each one of us are unique and special. Each path in my life has broadened by beliefs and given me a better understanding of who I am and who I want to be.
I have been married for twenty five years, if you would have told me that in the beginning I might have laughed at you, but when you are raising kids, time goes by fast. My husband sells Hondas in Auburn and I have a private preschool in my home. I have a large home so a large part of it is solely devoted to the preschool. I love teaching and I have given the great privilege of becoming a Head Start teacher also. I am always looking for new ideas on how to teach better and how to teach the kids what they need to know. It also keeps me fresh and up to date.
I have two daughters. One is twenty years old and she is a missionary for the Assembly of God in Fiji. She went to Fiji with her church youth group while she was in high school. She fell in love with the people there and has worked very hard to be able to return. In Fiji, she works with special needs children, leads medical mission teams out to the outer islands, and has a heart for the women who are caugth up in the prostitution rings and their children. Her desire is to be able to open a safe house there for the girls that she can bring out.
My other daughter is 19 years old and attends NYU in NY. She has always wanted to live in New York and she is excited to be living there. She has always wanted to go to Italy, since the fifth grade, and the program that she is studying requires her to travel to a satellite campus that the school has. So, she gets to go to Florence, Italy to live for one semester. Yeah!!
My hobbies are raising Yorkies. I love puppies. I also like to travel but that has been put on hold due to the economy. This is my blog and I hope that you enjoyed it.
