Hello from Cindy Townson

[cindy]

I am not very good at this as I never know what to say or not to say. I will give it my best shot.

Following high school, I worked a while in Fort Pierce and went to IRCC. While I was a student at IRCC, I found out that I had a rare degenerative eye disease and was quickly losing my vision. I eventually lost about 90% of my vision. Good news is that I gained a great guide dog. My current guide dog is Margie and she is a lab/golden mix. I use some great software to read online and find that life with limited vision is not really as bad as I thought it could be.

Since I felt that time was urgent in completing my education--hell--I really didn't know what to do--I set off learning how to live with limited vision and finish a college education. I attended IRCC, UCF, FSU and UF, collecting degrees along the way. I ultimately became a licensed clinical social worker and earned a doctorate in Rehabilitation Science.

I met my husband, my true soulmate, at UF. He is from China and teaches in the College of Architecture. We live in Gainesville and have two wonderful little boys. Our oldest son, Ben, turned 2 on Dec. 26th and our youngest, Dan, is almost 8 months old. I am not sure how to post a picture, but would love to share a picture of my beautiful family. My husband and boys make me so very happy and I adore all of them.

I am a stay at home mother and enjoy that much more than my previous jobs. It is the hardest work I have ever done, but also the most rewarding.

Our family will be going to China this summer to visit family there. My husband's mother was here for 4 months this past summer, so it will be nice to visit with her again. I also want our children to know as much about China as possible as that is also part of who they are.

I hope this wasn't too long and didn't bore all of you.

(Clark edit) here are the boys

Ben



Dan

[Clark]

Wow, Cindy amazing story, congrats for all that you've overcome and what sounds like a wonderful Husband and family


I'd be happy to help you upload and post photos.. not sure if you've read the post

"group photo hosting" located here

fpcclassof86.proboards105.com/index.cgi?board=pics&action=display&thread=1165283128

all you have to do basically is upload your photos to a hosting site, we have a free group photobucket account

then you copy the appropriate url from under the photo and paste it in your text post, and violla there is your picture.

oh and the fact that you also live in Gainsville helps explain the great Soap caper

PS you got some handsome boys there Cindy

[tammi86]

Hello Cindy! It's nice to hear from you, the last time I saw you was when you worked at Dr. Bohsali's office many moons ago! It sounds like you have a wonderful life, I am very happy for you! ;D

[cindy]

Thank you Clark and Tammi.

Clark, you also have such beautiful children. I am also confident that they have your great sense of humor and kindness.

Tammi, I remember the time I saw you at Dr. Bohsali's office. I still remember the two of us taking Mr. Hylick's anatomy class and trying to dissect that poor rabbit. I remember you named it Thumper! It is good to hear from you. I do hope you are doing well. It sounds like you have such a full plate with work, school and family. I am really impressed with all you are doing.

[Bob Lombardi]

Welcome Cindy. When I read your profile, I was amazed at how well you have adapted. I remember you being a strong and assertive person who could overcome almost anything. Luckily I was right! You have a beautiful family! Have a wonderful New Year. Hope to talk to you soon.

-Bob

[Kelly Hampton]

Your children are beautiful! You are a such an inspiration! I'm glad that everything is going so well. Good luck on your trip to China!

[tammi86]

Hi Cindy! Your boys are soooooo cute! Thanks for sharing those photos with us.

Oh, poor, poor thumper...I don't really know if I learned much from that class...lol Do you remember Curtis Watts? Remember he flicked some sort of "body part" from his cat at us? EW.

[cindy]

Thanks Bob. I think everyone has something that happens to them in life and what really makes them who they become is not the incident but how they move forward. I had no idea you were going through all your stuff during high school. Glad you were able to make a clean get away and move back to New York. It sounds like you have a wonderful life and I am happy for you. I look forward to talking with you in the future as well. I am still impressed with your ability to juggle school, work and family because that is so difficult.

Kelly, thanks for the compliments on my little boys. They are quite a handful, but worth every minute of work. Sounds like you have had an interesting life. I think I read that you had worked on a cruise ship--now that sounds like a very interesting and exciting job. Did you get to travel to many great places?

Tammi,
Thanks also for the compliments on the boys. I also don't think poor Thumper taught me very much. I do remember the "body part" flick. I think I remember you getting sick or something. Maybe it was me that got sick. I remember it to have been something like an intestine or something. Do you remember the "complimentary" frog that came with Thumper? I remember putting that under my sister's pillow and her having a fit when she felt it in the middle of the night. Got in quite a bit of trouble at home, but damn it was worth it.

[tammi86]

OMG! Cindy that is hilarious! I must say that I'm a bit "phobic" about frogs, I would have FREAKED if someone did that to me!

[Lisa]

Welcome Cindy! I got your PM and emailed you to your private one. My goodness your story is so inspiring and your children are LIVING DOLLS! I'm so glad you made it here!
Lisa

[James]

Hey Cindy !!! Glad to see you made it to the board. That was an amazing story and you have a beautiful family.

Though not a seeing eye dog, I also have a Lab/Golden mix named, "Chance". They are great dogs to have around.

[cindy]

Thanks James. I love the lab/golden mix--really great dog. I remember in high school you used to create some incredible art work. Glad to have the opportunity to chat with you.

[James]

cindy said:

Thanks James. I love the lab/golden mix--really great dog. I remember in high school you used to create some incredible art work. Glad to have the opportunity to chat with you.

Thanks Cindy! I'm still working in the art field, just recently doing freelance jobs.

I hope you have a great trip to China this summer, the closest I've ever been there is at EPCOT ;D

[margarita]

Cindy, prepare for lots of heat if you are going to go to China in the summer. I was just there the end of June to pick up our daughter and the temp was 107 to 110 with 100% humidty. I really loved the trip and was able to see a lot. I hope that we will be able to go again when Hallye gets older so that she can see where she is from. Oh, don't drink the water unless its from a bottle and don't eat anything unless you can peel it or cook it. That was what adoption agency told us and those that followed it stayed pretty healthy.
Have fun and enjoy it!

[spillman]

Cindy - your boys are darling! Thanks for sharing the pictures and your story. Now, I want to see a picture of your guide dog! Isn't it amazing the things that we can overcome with a little strength and some answered prayers? Kudos to you for working so hard on your education and having such a beautiful family. Enjoy your trip to China. All the best, Cheryl