Thursday, April 22, 2010

SUCCESSFUL?

A short conversation today, got a small fire stirring up in me today.  Being Successful is all that could come to mind.

Background:  A pit stop at my husband’s office led to a conversation with one of the other employees, male.  Having a good dialog about homeschooling and the opportunities given to us by the State of Florida, or more of lack of insane restriction and qualification.  The comment was made that my formal training is an Engineer. 

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Yes, my friends, I will let you know.  I am an engineer.  No, not the train operator, but boy I would love to drive a train.  Nope, I was the calculator toting, scale in hand, designing stormwater control structures and detention ponds with all the permitting and calculations required.  I ended it just over 2 years ago to stay at home with my 2 kids and pregnant with the 3rd.

On top of this, my husband and I worked for the same firm.  We were a powerhouse of ability and still fresh and green in the circuit.  I mean, we had the world by its tail and was confident in the success we were going to have.  I still have a fleeting feeling of the suits, I once wore and the million dollar clients.  I am saying this, as both my husband and I are tapping away on own laptops, he working and researching for his job, me working and researching (well, tell you) for my family.  Looking so industrious.

So lets just say, my world compared to my working life is far from different hemispheres, if not planets.  I went from take out meals to meals from scratch.  Suits and shopping sprees to hand me downs and homemade threads. Gym membership – gone.  Six week hair appointments – to cutting my own hair after a shower.  Bi-weekly messages to only when it is medically necessary.  The hot mocha lattes and frozen cappuccinos to a hot cup of Foldger’s coffee with some good creamer. LUNCHES!  I treated myself to wonderful lunches, now I eat left-overs.  I declared me time, for my exhaustion that was never budged.  My book budget, ahh, memories, now I just pay for book fines from the library.  Let me tall you, I would not go back.  None of that is worth, what I have now.

 

About a month ago, my husband asked if I missed work?  Well, at first I did desperately.  I missed the challenges and the fellow workers, and getting the gratifications of getting a job done right, a client happy, fixing the impossible.  Two years later, please do not strap me to that ball and chain called work.

Financially, if you need and I mean NEED to work that is one thing.  I spent the first year at home, trying to learn to live on what we had, yes, it took that long to do it.  Well, for the past year and half, not only do I live within our financial ability, I thrive on it.  I have learned to thrive on $150 a week with 3 kids, a scrapbook and sewing hobby, homeschool supplies, indulgences, and fun.  It can be done.  So to go to work just to have money, seems awfully greedy, especially since it would be at the expense of the peace and harmony of my family.

Something to do! Well the next reason to go to work is to just have something to do.  Well, I have plenty to do and IF I had my kids in school, there is still plenty I could find for myself to do.  I can garden, organize, volunteer.  You name it. Going to work when you do not need to, is just because you did not know what to do with yourself. 

SUCCESS: Well, my short conversation got me thinking.  With my wonderful pieces of paper in the expensive frames crowning my achievement within the college world.  Where is the best use of my abilities and where would those efforts bring me the most success? Hmm.

I drove and thought about this for a little bit and then it just started flooding my mind. (I should have stopped to write them down).  First, my desire to constantly learn and improve has benefitted my family.  I have used my skills to research and LEARN how to be thrifty, crafty, simple, and self-reliant.  Alright, I used my college degrees to pursue to be the best homemaker I can.  I consider that a step towards feminine freedom, (even though my previous college professor would disagree.) My education just allows me more opportunities than if I did not have it.  No matter what, it is my choice on the opportunity I take.  Having my educational background, to me, strengthens the notion and importance of how important a homemaker really is.  This is a snickered at and overlooked career path by the general public.  I am always being justified that my decision/forced retirement to stay at home was because of outrageous daycare bills. Not so.

So to me, success for me is the fact that I am working diligently to provide my children

  • a strong knowledge and love for our Lord.
  • A comprehension and knowledge of the power of money, good and bad.
  • the ability to live and thrive with less, so they will not be bound by the NEED of money.
  • to learn how to learn, this self teaching ability came at the end of my college career.
  • a solid foundation to give them to the our world as self reliant, independent, responsible adults.

What could be more successful than that?  Making money, having promotions, being looked to for your career success can end with a budget cut or retirement.  My success will produce fruit long pass retirement age.  My fruit will be my companions at the end of my life.  I will see and watch with pride as their fruit is strengthen and fortified, just as they were.  I will enjoy the blessings of their love.  Now that is success.

Even more so, is the hope that I have, that God will use me to teach other moms to have success and that my fruit will do the same.  To show that being a steward of what God has given us, will bring blessings of abundance.

I am succeeding and I will be successful.  God will use what ever education I have when HE intends for it to be used in that way.  I have no worries.  Sometimes, that education is used just on my husband alone, who is an engineer also.   Many engineers are often concerned about how 2 could live together.  It can be done.

~trish

(I am really sorry, I got one chance to review this and decided to post it, instead of letting it sit as a draft.)

1 comment:

  1. WOW!!!!!! I had a lot to catch up on!!! It had been a few days or so since I have read your blog!!!! AWESOME stuff!!!!! That was a lot of good info!!! You Rock Girl!!!!!! Can't wait to spend some time with you this weekend, so tell #4 to stay put!!!!!
    Love ya,
    Kari

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