Today for the "Women's History Month" Project, we are celebrating this fantastic woman
Meet Sarah Stanton, 43, wife, mother of 3 boys, a teacher and very grateful for the life she has...
Sarah was born and raised in Ocean Park, Maine, which is still her very favorite place in the world. Her dad died when she was in 6th grade after being in and out of the family. This left her mom to raise Sarah and her two older brothers alone. Her mom taught Sarah by example that anything was possible with hard work and strong faith. To this day her mom is her biggest supporter, loudest cheerleader, and above all else the very best Mimi to Sarah’s three sons.
Sarah graduated from Old Orchard Beach High School and went to college in Vermont. She majored in History and Political Science with the plan to follow in her mom’s footsteps and become a high school teacher. Imagine her surprise when she took a job at Lil Folk Farm in Scarborough, Maine teaching 4 and 5 year olds and realized that was her true calling. She knew choosing this path would be hard to financially maintain and often working 2 jobs to make her love of teaching preschool a reality. One day a larger than life man with wild red hair came through the school’s front door for a job interview. That night Sarah jokingly told her roommate she had met the man she was going to marry thinking he would never be hired and she would never see him again. Two weeks later Sean was her co-worker, six months later they started dating, soon after Sarah met his 12 year old daughter Meaghan (who would later become her amazing bonus daughter) and in 2008 they welcomed their beautiful first son Jackson.
Sarah had taken a teaching position at the Jewish Community Alliance in Portland, a job she loved and instilled in her the importance of quality early childhood education. After Jackson’s birth Sarah struggled with some health complications and with postpartum depression. For someone who was used to being good at things, the fact that something which was supposed to come to a mother naturally had not created a lot of unexpected guilt and shame. Being a new mom and already feeling like she was behind in parenting, Sarah decided she did not have the time or patience to invest in the depression. Instead she left the job she loved to stay home with Jackson and strengthen their bond. Jackson became her world, and she got good at suppressing the depression and holding everything together.
In the years to come there would be a lot of changes. In 2010 she and Sean got married, in 2011 they welcomed their spunky second son Oscar and they moved to Massachusetts. During this time Sarah lived in 24/7 survival mode and continued to inwardly struggle with on and off depression and a growing anxiety. It all hit a head when Sarah unexpectedly lost a pregnancy at 24 weeks and her life fell apart. Her struggles all came to light, she could no longer control or hide them and the result was crippling anxiety that would affect her marriage, her sons, and her relationship with family and friends. A job opportunity for Sean brought their family back home to Old Orchard that same year and Sarah’s path of healing and growth began. She found the courage to seek help and express the changes she wanted to make . She found a kindred spirit in a counselor who listened to Sarah’s desire for a more holistic approach to healing. She worked really hard and over time learned the power in forgiveness, the tools to gieve and lean into pain, and most important the ability to let go of the person she thought she was supposed to have become. Along the way she found a renewed relationship with her
spirituality.
Sarah’s next job at the Opportunity Alliance in Portland, Maine that would become crucial in opening her heart and changing her as an educator. She began in a Headstart Classroom and then moved to become a Family Advocate working directly with low socioeconomic families, many were new immigrants seeking asylum. Her own life challenges had given her the compassion and empathy to create a strong understanding of the families she worked with who were dealing with constant crisis. She connected with these families and recognized their mutual desires to be good parents, good people and give a rewarding life to their children. In 2015 Sarah was blessed with her third son Sebastion, who brought pure joy and the completion of their family. She chose to leave the OA due to policy changes, took an Ed Tech position at RSU23 and went back to school to get her teaching certificate. In 2018 she was offered one of the two teaching positions to help establish the Saco School’s new PreKindergarten program. It is beyond a blessing to work at a job she believes is her true purpose, and looks forward to going to work everyday. Her students are her second family and she strives to share the importance of quality developmentally appropriate education for all children despite their circumstances.
It was not magic, it did not happen immediately, but deciding to be accountable has resulted in a focus on gratitude for the gifts in her life, especially her husband who unconditionally loved and supported her journey- and still does everyday. She is proudest of the mom she has become and the three boys she and Sean are raising to be kind, compassionate, strong men. There are always challenges, Sarah now faces them head on with a toolbox of strategies determined to continue creating a wholehearted, happy life, even in a pandemic. Sarah relies on long walks and good music to maintain a daily clear head. Her family started camping, they look forward to many beach days in Ocean Park and Sarah has started yoga, which is harder than she thought but she still shows up. When Sarah saw the "Women's History Month" Project post about celebrating women in March she thought to herself “I will be ready for that next year!”
Thank you to the universe and Sean who reminded her to straighten her crown and be proud to tell her story today.
Sarah's favorite quote is:
“You either walk inside your story and own it or you stand outside your story and
hustle for your worthiness.”
Brene Brown
***
Thank you, Sarah, for sharing your journey with us all!
#whm #womenshistorymonthproject #womansupportingwomen #womenempowerment
6 Comments
Mar 15, 2022, 8:06:24 PM
Fred Seaborne - Hey Sarah, long time no see. How ya been? :)
Mar 29, 2021, 11:32:06 AM
Jack Trull - Sarah ! So proud of you ! So proud of the Mother, Teacher, and Young woman that you have become ! Keep smiling and never forget your roots ! Coach Trull :)
Mar 27, 2021, 10:00:56 PM
Elizabeth Cabot - What a beautiful tribute to a woman as beautiful inside, as out. I’m blessed to call you my friend!
Mar 27, 2021, 5:03:42 PM
Susan Morrison - I am so proud of you, my second daughter!
Mar 26, 2021, 5:18:07 PM
Sherry Jacques - What an awesome Pre-k teacher Sarah is!! I have had the pleasure of being a Foster Grammy in her class for the past 2 years. Sarah is a breath of fresh air for her students and thoroughly engages herself in their different personalities and idiosyncrasies. I feel grateful and blessed to be a part of her classroom.
Mar 26, 2021, 5:14:41 PM
Britt Wolfe - Thank you Sarah for bravely sharing your story. I am so glad that you have had such a rich life, which rarely comes without costs. I am so proud of the mature woman you have become! Thank you for all the good that you do!