This is not the blog I thought I would write. I expected to wax poetic about my obsession with winning, my love of really cute shoes (need lots of money to fund that habit), or maybe even that I liked helping others. Every time I sat down to write, my thoughts drifted to a little girl named Kelsey.

When Kelsey was 3 years old she went to the doctor for her annual checkup. At first Kelsey’s mom didn’t think she had anything to worry about – Kelsey was slower than her siblings in most areas, but every kid is different. Then there were these weird birthmarks. Turns out that Kelsey had Neurofibromatosis – or NF. The delayed speech, muscle weakness, and café au lait spots (those weird birthmarks) are all symptoms.

No parent ever wants to imagine their child with an illness – certainly not a genetic anomaly that can cause tumors to grow on their nerve endings, or cause developmental delays and learning disabilities. No parent wants to hear that their child may not be able to play sports, ride a bike, or even read and write like everyone else.

Luckily Kelsey’s mom was a recruiter. All of a sudden those long days, evening and weekend candidate meetings, early morning calls and other wacky scheduling all made sense. Recruiting has never been a 9-5 time clock punching sort of job. So when Kelsey needed an MRI, mom could take her. When Kelsey started occupational AND physical therapy, mom could take her twice a week. When Kelsey finished her first year of school mom was able to lobby hard and schedule meeting after meeting with the teachers and administration to make sure she got a 2^nd year of Kindergarten, not wanting her to move up before she was ready.

And then there’s the money. You’d be amazed at how much of this stuff is not covered by insurance. So when the therapy bills started rolling in Kelsey’s family didn’t go bankrupt. Recruiting can be a lucrative business.

Thanks to the incredible, crazy roller coaster that is recruiting, Kelsey’s mom was able to arrange her schedule to be at the physical therapy appointment when 6 year old Kelsey rode a tricycle for the first time.

I love recruiting because it gave Kelsey’s family the financial stability and schedule flexibility to take care of their youngest daughter. This is Kelsey, and I am her mom.