I was made for this.

I am an American Sign Language interpreter. I love my job.

I happen to think I have the greatest job in the world! Paying job, that is; they don't pay you to be a mommy. I am not a mommy, but I do believe it is the greatest, and hardest, job in the world. I digress.

Sign language and deafness in any form was never a part of my life growing up. How they entered my life is an amazing story. One I would like to tell. Here goes...

I was an actress. Born that way. My family lovingly coined me “Crisis a minute” because everything was overly dramatized and intense all the time. I'm woman enough to admit it now, oh yes, it was.

I acted all through elementary, middle, and high school. I went to an arts school for college and studied theatre day and night. I loved it. I was good at it. I had a true passion for it. I never thought I would be anything but an actress for the rest of my life. My mom says that when she and my father dropped me off at college and drove home, that my dad cried because he KNEW that was it- I was never coming home. I was going to NYC and BROADWAY!!! Yep, I had it all figured out.

Funny how OUR plans never look like what really plays out. Hmm.

Anyway... At some point in my young life, probably around 13, my family got a Nintendo. You remember, I know you do. The gray and black box with the red writing. The flat cartridges that you had to blow in to make work, then BAM- Mario got to run and jump and slide down green tubes that took him to fantastical worlds full of coins and Koopas!! Well, we got one of those... and it was AWE.SOME. I was one of those kids that could figure things out quickly and beat a game in a very short period of time. My dad says it was then that he realized how good my hand/eye coordination was. Well, shortly after he began to say, “You know what, Cath? I think you're going to do sign language one day! I don't know why, but I think you will. Your hand/eye coordination is great, plus you have a natural flair for the dramatic!” Wink. Wink. Nudge. Nudge. To which I would promptly roll my pre-teen eyes and say, “Yeah right, dad! I'm an actress!” End. Of. Story.

Little did we know at the time that my dad had been given a glimpse into my future and my true passion. I am convinced the Lord just whispered it in his ear and he listened, because once every several months or so he would say it again. And again, I would roll my eyes, “Dads. What do they know?” -Adult Catherine to young Catherine, heed my word, “They know. OH. SO. MUCH!”

Cut to age 25. I toured for three years with a professional Children's Theatre company based in Richmond, Va. For the first year or so I loved the lifestyle; traveling all over the country, seeing tons of different states and many cool things, performing for packed houses of screaming and laughing kids. It was great. Then reality set in. It. Was. Hard. You're either made for that lifestyle long term or you're not. I was not; eating, sleeping, driving, breathing- with the same four people for six months at a time (good luck if you hate each other!) You are your own cast, crew, sound, props, administration, etc... It took it's toll on me. After three years I quit.

I needed a job.

A friend of mine told me that they were hiring a Pre-K teacher at a private preschool and I didn't need a teaching certificate or anything. I went. I applied. I got hired. I had 24 four year olds in my class. Holy heck, Batman! It was nuts.

Cut to six months later. I loved the kids. I hated the job.

I called my parents one night sobbing. “I am 25 years old and everything I have ever wanted to do in my life I no longer want to do! I have no idea what is happening or where to go with my life!”  

This is where my story turns. 

My dad says to me (somewhat choked up and teary), “Catherine. I have NO IDEA how I have known this, but I have KNOWN since you were a little girl that you are supposed to do sign language. Please just take a class and if you hate it I promise you I will never mention it again.”

I really didn't have any other options. Why not try it? But, I sure as heck wasn't enrolling in a college course and shelling out $350 or more, because I was convinced it was a lost cause. So, I enrolled in a $60/one night a week for six weeks class sponsored by my local Parks and Recreation.

I KNEW five minutes in. Done. Forever. Daddy's know best for their little girls.

The rest, as they say, is history.

It's strange though, I look back on my family growing up and there is one sign that has ALWAYS been a part of our lives- I Love You.

I don't know where it came from or who started it in my family, but it has always been there. Funny anecdote: When my sister and brother-in-law were first dating, they were leaving the house one day and my mom signed “I love you” to my sister as they drove off. My brother-in-law turned to my sister and said, “Did your mom just flash you the Van Halen symbol??” This is now a running joke in my family. “Van Halen, Dude!” while holding up your hand. Heehee. (Sorry, Dan. Please be nice to me.)

Cut to now. I interpret full time in the school system, free lance interpret on the side, interpret for theatre and concerts, and teach sign language in a program for children with and without disabilities. This is my heart. I LOVE my job. It's easy to FEEL like I am doing what I was meant to do.

BUT... when I get a picture text from my three year old nephew, out of nowhere on a Sunday morning, like this...

I KNOW I am doing exactly what I was called to do. I was made for this.