"Your current reality is not permanent." 

“Being open, asking for help, sharing my story, these things not only help me, but I hope that they will also help someone else.”

"It’s never too late to turn all of those life lessons into blessings and to end up with “Blessons.”

"Eventually landing in Chicago, I had humble beginnings. My family opened a dry cleaning business, and we spent some time living in the back until business improved and we were able to buy a home in Albany Park. "

“My children are my world, and they cannot and will not see me with a negative attitude because that is not how I want them to view their mother.”

“I have always been a natural healer of others...but I had to learn that it was okay to care for myself.”

“I will tell all women to take care of themselves first--to become selfish--because if we are not well, we won't be able to give our best selves to others.” - Marilu

My name is Sandra but my family and friends call me Sand. Yes, like the sand you find at the beach. I am the mother of three wonderful, beautiful witty girls. I come from a very humble family and I am a first generation Mexican- American. Since graduating from college last May at age 35 with my first Bachelor’s degree, my life has taken a 180 degree turn for the best. 

Around the time I turned 16 I was up at 4:30 AM in the morning doing chores before high school. I would wake up early on the weekends to milk forty cows. A dairy farm is an operation that runs seven days a week.  Farmers have no sick days, vacation days, or holidays off from work.  However, the reward is being able to see first-hand the results of all that effort and hard work. It was also great to spend so much time outdoors instead of being stuck behind a desk for so many hours of the day!

I was born in early 1962 in Des Moines, Iowa. My parents were very conservative politically and religiously.  I was raised in a no nonsense household that held firmly to the belief of, "Spare the rod, spoil the child."  The rod was firmly administered to excess.  I recall, even in high school wearing clothing that strategically hid bruises.  At age 22, a Senior in college, I received my last "official" spanking.  

College was a fabulous experience and a real revelation! I was a little fish in a big pond, coming from a small private school of 61 in my graduating class to a HUGE university full of such diversity and no shortage in opportunities. I went to college at age 17, as I was very young when I started Kindergarten. It took me 5 years to finish, but I don’t have any regrets! It was my first real experience with setbacks. Looking back, I was ALWAYS able to pick up the pieces and start fresh!

My name is Jill Schumacher. I am a Physician Assistant and work in sports medicine. I went to the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Aside from working full time in orthopedics, my heart is really into medical missions.  

I got a job as a part time teacher upon graduation. I wanted to live in the city so I moved to Lincoln Park (the only place my parents thought was safe) and took a job working for a small graphic arts firm. I eventually left that job to go back to teaching. I taught in the UIC area for several years then met and married a man. After a few years of commuting, I had a daughter thus, I chose to take a teaching job closer to our home. A second,  third and then FOURTH(!) child meant looking for a larger home and with that, a change to another school closer to home. Somewhere in there, my stepdaughter (goodness I hate the term step!) chose to become a part of our family. Thus, I became a mom of 5!