Last month, I signed up for this free online photography class. What ensued (and is still happening) is a photo+word documentary of various aspects of my love for Mike. She is offering another class called "Joy of Luck" (sign up here). It is only a week long, and thought it would be fun to try it again, this time focusing on all the blessings of life.
Today's prompt was about an inanimate object/thing that is taken for granted.
I immediately thought of water. Last summer I was in Mexico building a house and didn't have running water to shower or safe water to drink - it had to be trucked over the border each week from San Diego. And then we were in Egypt, not being able to drink the tap water without getting desperately sick and having to drink bottles and bottles of water in that hot, hot dessert. And even here in the summer when we are camping, doing the dishes or washing our hands means a long trek to the water tap. Coming home and being able to just turn on the tap to drink or to do the dishes or to wash our hands is such an everyday thing, but so so foreign to many people around the world.
Lately, however, our family and our future has been in transition. We are transitioning from the very traditional "mom-stays-home-while-dad-goes-to-work" type of family to the "mom-goes-to-work-while-dad-goes-to-school" type of family. The former is comfortable and something I have know for years (going back to my own 'traditional' upbringing...). The latter is a bit more murky and muddy and full of risk and the unknown.
I have known about this particular move for quite some time. Mike and I have spent many hours talking about what this is going to look like, and I have spent ALOT of mental energy trying to figure out what I wanted to go back to in regards to work.
I have to take one step back here...I am not one motivated by the money. So it isn't healthy for me to start looking at work and figuring out where I will make the most money. And we have been very intentional about letting our children know that first and foremost, Daddy goes to work because he feels called to help people, not because we have to put food on the table. For me, going back to work is less about the money and more about where I feel called, where I would feel fully valued, where my gifts will be most utilized.
With that in mind, I spent quite a bit of time and energy researching and talking and exploring the graphic design field. This would be a huge jump for me: in the job seeking literature, it is about changing industry and changing jobs - which is one of the hardest moves to make (versus just changing one or the other). I was pretty sure this is where I needed to be. It seemed a natural transition given all my graphic design work over the past few years. So I wrote up my resume, applied for jobs...and the doors were closed. I rewrote my resume, applied for more jobs, talked to potential employers and people in the field...and the doors were closed. I talked to a few more people, and all I heard in my soul was that wasn't the right move. I love designing and creating, but something deep inside me was pretty clear - "not now".
So that left me with two options: sulk and complain (which, admittedly, I did for a while...) or continue the search for my place. After all the processing and discerning, I was able to look at my previous teaching career in a different light. Updating my teaching resume was a piece of cake - everything about it felt 'right'. And, with all my graphic design experience, it was that much stronger. I realized that I was coming from a place of confidence and strength when seeing myself in the classroom again, rather than a place of defensiveness and uncertainty.
And for where our family is at right now - that is exactly what both I and my family need.
This all leads me to the prompt (which couldn't have come at a better time, btw) - I have, for many years, taken my education for granted. I have these two pieces of paper that were earned with hundreds of hours of studying and paper-writing and discussing and struggling. And so, my two degrees - and the fact that because of them, Mike can go back to work knowing that he doesn't have to carry all the weight of providing for the family any more - is my photo.
The prospect of switching things up is scary for me - all of these changes are outside of what we have known for the past few years. But, it feels really, really good, moving forward in confidence and trust.
Today's prompt was about an inanimate object/thing that is taken for granted.
I immediately thought of water. Last summer I was in Mexico building a house and didn't have running water to shower or safe water to drink - it had to be trucked over the border each week from San Diego. And then we were in Egypt, not being able to drink the tap water without getting desperately sick and having to drink bottles and bottles of water in that hot, hot dessert. And even here in the summer when we are camping, doing the dishes or washing our hands means a long trek to the water tap. Coming home and being able to just turn on the tap to drink or to do the dishes or to wash our hands is such an everyday thing, but so so foreign to many people around the world.
Lately, however, our family and our future has been in transition. We are transitioning from the very traditional "mom-stays-home-while-dad-goes-to-work" type of family to the "mom-goes-to-work-while-dad-goes-to-school" type of family. The former is comfortable and something I have know for years (going back to my own 'traditional' upbringing...). The latter is a bit more murky and muddy and full of risk and the unknown.
I have known about this particular move for quite some time. Mike and I have spent many hours talking about what this is going to look like, and I have spent ALOT of mental energy trying to figure out what I wanted to go back to in regards to work.
I have to take one step back here...I am not one motivated by the money. So it isn't healthy for me to start looking at work and figuring out where I will make the most money. And we have been very intentional about letting our children know that first and foremost, Daddy goes to work because he feels called to help people, not because we have to put food on the table. For me, going back to work is less about the money and more about where I feel called, where I would feel fully valued, where my gifts will be most utilized.
With that in mind, I spent quite a bit of time and energy researching and talking and exploring the graphic design field. This would be a huge jump for me: in the job seeking literature, it is about changing industry and changing jobs - which is one of the hardest moves to make (versus just changing one or the other). I was pretty sure this is where I needed to be. It seemed a natural transition given all my graphic design work over the past few years. So I wrote up my resume, applied for jobs...and the doors were closed. I rewrote my resume, applied for more jobs, talked to potential employers and people in the field...and the doors were closed. I talked to a few more people, and all I heard in my soul was that wasn't the right move. I love designing and creating, but something deep inside me was pretty clear - "not now".
So that left me with two options: sulk and complain (which, admittedly, I did for a while...) or continue the search for my place. After all the processing and discerning, I was able to look at my previous teaching career in a different light. Updating my teaching resume was a piece of cake - everything about it felt 'right'. And, with all my graphic design experience, it was that much stronger. I realized that I was coming from a place of confidence and strength when seeing myself in the classroom again, rather than a place of defensiveness and uncertainty.
And for where our family is at right now - that is exactly what both I and my family need.
This all leads me to the prompt (which couldn't have come at a better time, btw) - I have, for many years, taken my education for granted. I have these two pieces of paper that were earned with hundreds of hours of studying and paper-writing and discussing and struggling. And so, my two degrees - and the fact that because of them, Mike can go back to work knowing that he doesn't have to carry all the weight of providing for the family any more - is my photo.
The prospect of switching things up is scary for me - all of these changes are outside of what we have known for the past few years. But, it feels really, really good, moving forward in confidence and trust.
2 comments:
You are a brave and strong woman, wife, and mom. I love your reflections.
Thanks...but I don't feel very brave or strong! It is all a tad overwhelming!!
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