Incredible Woman #29 - Rebecca Bird. Monday's Questions

This week I'm please to feature someone I've know for a very long time - Rebecca Bird. I'm sure you'll love her as much as I do...

KARA: "Describe yourself. What makes you an incredible woman?"


BECCA: "I’m a happily married, mother of five beautiful children. As with most women, I don’t find myself that incredible. I have the luxury of staying home with my children during the day, but choose to work part time in the evenings. I am an adjunct college English teacher. I’ve always claimed that I have the best of both worlds. I teach so that the daily chores and stresses of child rearing and running a household don’t become tedious. I get bored easily with a daily routine, so this helps me to break it up and keep my mind active in a different way. I can appreciate the time with my family, and know that they aren’t the only aspect of my life.

I enjoy reading, exercising, crocheting and watching my kids play soccer and dance. I love to travel and have had several opportunities to do so. I started a literary club 16 years ago (October 1994), and am proud that it is still thriving. Membership waxes and wanes, but many of us are incredibly committed to it and the friendships we’ve formed. I love serving in my church and accepting any challenges offered by the different ways I’m asked to serve."


KARA: "Tell us about your family. What have you learned from each one?"


BECCA: "I’ve been married for almost 21 years to a man I love deeply. I respect his commitment to education, his love and respect for all human beings. He treats me with love and respect, and encourages me to be the person I want to be. He has willingly taken over childcare in the evenings that I teach and has done that even with my tiny babies. He operates on the view that he is not “babysitting,” but parenting. I’ve learned much from and with him. One of the most surprising things was not to be shy or timid about pursuing dreams. He’s not flashy or showy, but if he wants to do something, he just does it.

Jacqueline, my oldest daughter, has always amazed me. She’s nineteen and living 300 miles away at college. She’s always been a good friend and been the bridge between many groups. She accepts flaws in her friends without judging them and is mature about forgiveness. Her adventurous spirit is growing, and she’s branching out with a study abroad in England this summer.

Greg, my oldest son, got his father’s work ethic. He’s focused and completes tasks quickly and well. We could never keep him busy enough with homework, so we’ve encouraged him to take part-time jobs. He loves to spend money, so we helped him set limits on his spending. He now has a nice savings account that will help him serve a mission for our church and go to college. I’ve learned from him that people are willing to meet clear and reasonable expectations.

Corinne is my middle child. We’ve often joked about her being the forgotten child in the middle, but I didn’t realize how much it affected her until her older sister went away to school. Corinne has matured immensely in this last school year. She stepped up and played the role of older sister. She helps happily, treats the younger children with more respect, and is very responsible. It seems she was just waiting for the chance to shine. I’m sad to think she may have felt forgotten, but I’m very grateful for the opportunity to see her shine. She is a great idea person. She often comes up with ideas of how to work things better. I’ve used several of them, and am less and less surprised when they work. She thinks things through well. She has a joyous soul. We could have lost her before she was born, and I’m incredibly grateful she’s part of my life.

All of my children are bright. They work hard at school and are very responsible, so they have been successful. Claire seems to have a natural ability to learn things easily. She is, however, more burdened by the pressure to perform than my other children. She worries and stresses. I’m trying to learn from her how to help her excel without pressuring her too much.

Mark is my baby. He’s bright and funny. He takes everything in stride and enjoys life. From him I’m learning more about the need to be consistent."

As always, I'll be posting 2 questions/answers each day this week. Please return and learn more about this Incredible Woman. Tomorrow we'll discuss Becca's college job and her church job. See you then."