February 2nd, 2009 lvs
Some people are inspired to do grand and glorious things – travel around the world, amass mega-millions of money, devote their lives to stamping out poverty, achieve their notorious “15 minutes of fame”.
Me – I’ll admit I enjoy going to new places, earning more money, helping people have a better future, and getting some deserved recognition and attention. But I don’t need to undertake any of this on a monumental scale. Because of the inspiration and rewards I receive from my work with LVS Online, I’m able to realize my most cherished dreams, literally from the comfort of my own home.
Let me explain. . . .
Just out of high school, I attended Delta College in Bay City, Michigan, and then worked for a telephone company while raising “family number one” – three children, two boys and one girl. My duties at work included traveling to other regions of the country to be trained on new computer programs and bring that knowledge back to my company to train co-workers. I definitely enjoyed it, but the sometimes conflicting demands of work and motherhood took their toll.
After divorce and remarriage, I resigned my full-time job of 20 years to be a stay-at-home Mom for my youngest, fourth child. Besides mid-life motherhood, another big factor prompting my “early retirement” was my dream of having my own home-based business. With my ongoing passion for continued learning and computer training, my plan was to develop my own web design company.
So, in 1998 with my new Hewlett Packard and dial up Internet service in hand, I searched for online classes. I found a suitable online learning institution and started my training. I also met a lot of people – online that is. I quickly learned that being a SAHM was pretty cool – not only was I able to be at home with my then four-year-old son, I also got to meet and interact with new people all over the world!
Little did I know, that this would be the beginning of LVS for me. I met Vikki at this online learning institution while taking some of the same classes and we became good friends. From her helping me to learn such things as how to develop web pages to using Paint Shop Pro, I knew Vikki was a pretty smart cookie. Eventually, with all of the vast computer knowledge Vikki had, she finally decided to spread her wings and develop her own online school – hence LVS Online Classes was founded in 1999.
But, let me back up to what actually prompted the birth of LVS Online Classes.
First, let me say that at this time I was 40-something and had gone through elementary school, high school, and college without ever getting into trouble (well, nothing to speak of). Then, it came about that one of our favorite instructors at this other online school did not see eye-to-eye with the owner of that school on a certain issue. Many of us felt that this instructor was being treated unfairly, so we stood by her. Things got a little heated, but we persisted, until, much to our surprise – Vikki and I along with about 30 other students were expelled!
Ha – can you imagine grandmothers and grandfathers who would never even be caught jaywalking, nor ever had been in a lick of trouble at school, but suddenly found themselves expelled from an online school for standing by an admired instructor? I was mortified – where would I find another online school that offered the classes I needed at an affordable cost? Not to worry – Vikki came to my rescue (as well as the other 30-some expelled students). She decided to start her own online school – LVS Online Classes. LVS stands for Leader in Virtual Studies and its tagline is “Where Learning is Fun!” – and it really is. Don’t take my word for it – read the comments from our students to hear what they have to say about LVS Online Classes.
Due to this memorable phrase that sums up the tone and premise of our new school, it grew by leaps and bounds. Vikki soon realized she needed help…so the tables turned, and now I came to her rescue to help administer the LVS Online Classes website and assist behind the scenes. I found the work to be challenging and I learned a lot along the way; I enjoy what I do and find it very rewarding. I learned more than I ever thought I would need to know by partnering with Vikki and Bob to assist with the LVS site.
Thankfully, my computer work allows a lot of flexibility. . . wherever there’s a computer and internet connection, I can go to work! That’s important to me because last year, within a six-month time frame, I became “Grammy” to three brand-new grandchildren. 
Along with my first granddaughter 
, a step-grandson, and my now 14 year old son 
these six little people consume much of my time, attention and love. Being able to telecommute from anywhere in the world is also a real plus since I often accompany my husband on long-distance road trips 
in his work as a trucking owner/operator 
. When I have a few spare moments at home, you’ll find me working in my flower garden 
, or maybe just sitting on the deck eating chocolate and watching the geese flock to my huge backyard pond 
. In the winter, I watch the deer gather in the field behind my pond to munch on the leftovers from the fall harvest – which I’m doing right now! 
Because of LVS, Vikki and Bob are some of our closest friends – for the past several summers they have come to Michigan with their RV and set up camp for 2 or 3 weeks (and with laptop in hand to do LVS work of course). Vikki’s children and grandchildren from Canada meet up with us and stay for several days as well.
On a few occasions, we visited Vikki and Bob at their house in Georgia. Sometimes we would stop on our way down to Florida – which is how our newest family member came about – "Bud". He was a stray that Vikki took in and was trying to find a home for him. My husband and Bud took to each other immediately – and Bud has been with us ever since.
I have also had the pleasure of meeting a few other LVS people (instructors and students) – Katz, Carol, Farron, Becky, and Sonja – which if it hadn’t been for LVS, I would never have had that honor. I plan to meet a lot more LVS people in the upcoming years!
Not only does LVS Online Classes provide a challenging, rewarding, and fulfilling business aspect in my life, but it enables me to enjoy time with my children, grandchildren, friends and family, go on road trips with my husband, and enjoy summer days on the comfort of my own deck watching the hummingbirds feed.
My association with LVS Online is definitely the source of much inspiration. . . .to work and continue to learn; to meet new people and experience new challenges; to remember that standing up for what’s right always pays off in the end; to live each day to its fullest; and, finally, to stop and smell the roses! (Or the platter size hibiscus that grows in my backyard in the summer)
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