In 2007, I quit my job. It was the first “real” job that I ever had and during the eleven years that I worked there, I always envisioned myself retiring from that company. Why did I quit? Because I am in love my husband and in order for him to further his career, we needed to relocate. We need to take a risk.
With Risk Comes Reward
You’re probably wondering what was my reward, right? Well, there are too many to count! Knowing that I have a happy husband doing who is what he loves and that he’s being properly compensated for the work is one reward. Knowing that my son has a parent available all the time to help him learn his ABCs, put on his socks, and get him snacks is another.
Did that risk come with regret? Of course. I often wonder what my life would be like if I were still working there. Here’s how I envision it: still drinking two pots (no, that is not a typo) of coffee per day, traveling to and fro, being stressed from work pressures and the pressure that I put upon myself, attending conferences, no kiddos, and probably drinking too much wine (yes, there is such a thing!). I loved my job, but it was my primary focus.
Over the last few years, I have learned that I like to come and go on my own schedule. In fact, I prefer making my own schedule than having someone else dictate what I do. I am more in touch with my creative side – I didn’t even know that I had a creative bone in me {there was no time for that!}. I love being a mother and wife, it’s a role that I am proud of.
I would not be where I am if it were not for the risk that I took in 2007.
What’s the biggest risk you’ve taken? Was it worth it?
This post was written as part of BlogHer’s NaBloPoMo March 2013 challenge. Today’s prompt was “Do you believe the saying that with great risks come great rewards?” Sign ups to participate in this month’s Blog Roll are open through March 5. You can still check out the participating bloggers and the daily prompts. Daily writing prompts can often become a great source of inspiration and encourage you to write about things you haven’t previously explored.
Hi, so glad your risk worked out for you. Looks like you are busy and successful. I am just starting. I took a risk and started blogging in February. I hope you visit my blog and let me know what you think. I really enjoyed reading your blog and love the look of it.
Thanks,
Mary Hill
it sounds like you were able to find a place where you were happy. I too had to give up friends and family,with each move. I know how hard it can be. It takes a lot of faith and perseverance to make a move like that work. However, it can be worth it for so many reasons.
It was hard to leave my friends – and I still don’t feel that I’ve really connected with anyone here. I find that as an adult, it’s difficult to make friends; especially since I am not in an office or interacting with other adults regularly.
Have you tried a book club or a play group. Sometimes you really do have to put yourself out there to make friends. I have heard wine clubs can be really great for making friends. Now as to what type of friends I don’t know.
What would our lives be without risk? I took the giant leap from a career to home mom years ago. I spent half my life trying to get into a job with my own office only to leave it a few short years later to move halfway across the country and settle down. I look back and I miss small things, but like you…. this is the life I’m more proud of. Maybe it’s because in your story as well as mine, they were the choices that took the most courage.
My career change was a big risk, but it provided several rewards in the end. I like to think that if we don’t take risks, we’ll never know what could come of our future.
Risks are taken every day, my risk was retiring from my job instead of keep working until I died or whatever happened. My job was as a Director of Nursing very high streess, carried resposibility for all patients, staff, administration, was eating me alive, now I am at home with my cats.. it was either that of have aheart attack. Yes, I miss work have worked almost my entire life,now almost old enough for medicare, quite a little over a year ago. and still am glad I did, like I say I miss others but not the stress..
Your family is lucky to have you as suportive as you are. Keep it up
Thank you, Dorothy, for your kind words and for being a nurse. It’s a tough, and often thankless job. I hope that you are enjoying your retirement and are able to reinvent yourself!
thank you for sharing this. even though funds are hard here, i do not regret not “working”. my husband and kids are far more important and now i can do things that have real releveance to the world!
Money is tight for most people, but time is something you can never buy. Your children will appreciate that you were home with them, they won’t remember not having every single toy ever sold, or 100 pairs of shoes. They’ll remember the time you spent with them and the things you did together. Make every day count!
I am glad this decision worked out for you
The biggest risk I have taken was back in the day when I was working and we had to decide who’s career we were going to put first. Both my husband and I were up for promotions at the same time. It would require us to move regardless of who took the promotion. So we talked it through and decided we would put his career first, eben though I was making more money then him LOL! It is the best decision I have ever made ,besides marrying him. I have had the most supportive husband with a job he loves. It has also allowed me a chance to be a stay at home mom. I am one lucky gal.
Hi great topic. I have been on disability for the last 18 years and I took a huge risk in trying to go back to work. I graduate in May and then will start work as a certified medical assistant. I hope my risk pays off, I can’t wait to go to work and be able to help others.
Congratulations! Best of luck in this exciting chapter of your life!
the biggest risk I have taken is ending a 6 yr relationship. I didn’t want to do it, but he did something illegal, so he had to go. The benefit of it was I now live within ten minutes of my grandkids. I love spending time with them. I have lived alone for almost 6 years and I like doing my own thing.
Biggest risk i took was deciding to start graduate school, still not sure about it yet, will see if the career pans out and I love it lol…but so far it’s the right choice. My fiance quit his job to come with me, so i suppose his risk was the greatest, I am so glad he made it
You had to take the risk if your husband had to relocate and of course you love him otherwise you would have sent him packing LOL
sibabe64 at ptd dot net
This sounds very similar to an experience my family went through about 15 year ago. My father’s job relocated across the country, and my mother had to give her her job of 20+ years to follow my father. After we moved, most of the time she only held a part-time job, and that was only after I was halfway through high school. I must say I enjoyed my mom being home everyday when I got off the bus, and all the extra time she was able to spend with me because she wasn’t working. I also respect her for allowing my father to take the promotion across the country and make better money, and just be happier in general. So from a different perspective I can relate to your story and to taking risk in general as well!
So happy that it all worked out so well for your parents! It’s great to see a similar story from a child’s perspective, that helps me appreciate the risk that I took even more!
Have a wonderful night!
The biggest risk I’ve taken was moving across the country to be with my boyfriend. My job transfer wasn’t guaranteed and I risked losing my healthcare in the middle of a huge Psoriasis flare. I had to take a break from school. This was 4 years ago. I miss my family and I have to put school on hold but I’m happy. I have a wonderful little boy now and we have so much fun!
It’s wonderful when taking a risk works out! So happy for you!
My biggest risk I think was also something very similar. I opted to stay home to raise a family and live a debt free life. Its been HARD- really hard, but years later we have 8 kids and we just finally paid off our house and while I often wonder how much easier life would have been had I stayed employed, I dont think I’d ever go back in time and do anything different.
Good luck with your risk! My fiance and I are taking risks right now, too – and we are hoping they pay off. He is cutting down on the number of classes he teaches to develop a locally-grown meat and produce business. Sometimes, you just have to take a leap and hope it all works out! Best wishes to you!
I wouldn’t call it a risk but I chose to keep my ds even though I was only 17 when I had him. I was able to finish high school and college thanks to the support of my family. He is now 19 (going on 20)! I am now happily married with a beautiful 5 year old dd! It took some time to find me the right man! 😉 I wouldn’t change any of it though!
The risk that I took was moving to be closer to my mom which was a reward in a big way! I do believe when you risk certain things there are rewards that follow. The other risk was like you quitting my stressful job to take care of my son which is so rewarding because I can come and go as I please and I am on my own schedule and not on someone else’s. Thanks for sharing your story. Have a Happy Easter!!
Isn’t it wonderful to make your own schedule?! I don’t think that I could ever “punch a clock” or be under someone else’s thumb again.
I took a risk about 20 years ago when I has been working at a job I enjoyed and I had planned to continue working at after I had my son. While on maturnity leave I realized I couldn’t leave my baby with someone while I worked so I gave my notice. We later went on to have a daughter. I don’t regret my decision because I feel it’s important for a Mom to stay home with their children if possible. While living on one income means living on a budget, it’s been worth it and I know my children would agree.
I agree – I love being available for my son and know that he will appreciate it when he’s older, too. My mom stayed home with me full time until I started school {she then worked while I was at school}, and I loved it – I have such great memories of my childhood. I want the same for my son.
My biggest risk (or leap, if you will) was joining the Air Force. Got excellent training and got to live in Germany and travel lots of places.
Thank you for your service, Sarah! My grandfather is retired from the Air Force, he was stationed in Germany as well. Small world, eh?
Wow! I’m so glad your risk ended up working out for you for the better. The biggest risk I took was deciding to have a baby right after I got married when I was 18. Sometimes I feel like if I had waited then I would’ve been able to better support my son. But, now that I have him, I don’t know what I’d do without him! He will be turning two this May and I’m so excited he’s here in this world with me.
I’m a firm believer that everything in your life happens for a reason. My parents were very young when I was born, too. They struggled and had their own growing pains, but I turned out pretty fantastic (if I do say so myself!).
My biggest risk was in 2007 also! I moved from Oklahoma to Virginia for a new job. I didn’t know anyone at all in VA, and ALL of my family was still in Texas. They thought I was crazy. In the end, great choice. I met my sweet husband and I love Virginia (even though I miss being close to my family).
Hooray for taking risks in 2007! There must have been something in the air that year! So happy that your risk worked out for you, too!
I can understand the situation you were faced with because i was faced with a similar one of my own. When I met my husband I had a job I loved as a nurse and my husband is active duty Army. Our careers meshed well until I got pregnant with our first child together. The plan was that after the baby was born I was going to return to work. Then we found out that he was going to deploy to Iraq again for 15 months. With him being deployed and me being gone to work 11 hrs a day counting the commute and lunch hour, someone else was going to be raising our baby. So, we decided that I would just stay home with the baby. It was a huge financial adjustment as we lost half of the income we were used to, but the reward is far greater. We have adjusted, though money is sometimes tight… but our babies (we have 4 together now) have consistent parenting that isn’t being provided by a daycare.
What a wonderful story! Thank you so much for sharing. I love hearing from mom’s who made the choice to stay home and live on less money but more love!
Have a great day!