After an almost six-year hiatus, I started working again (outside the home) this fall. It’s funny when I run into people locally and they see me all dressed up like a grown up. Apparently the last few years I must have really gotten “comfortable.” 😉

But I sometimes get comments that I don’t expect, like:

But what about the boys? Don’t they need you?

or

How do you have time for all of it?

or

I didn’t know it was getting that tough.

Let me do a little clarifying: My boys still have my attention, fully and completely. And my boss understands, fully and completely. And she’s pretty darn amazing about it.

How do I have time? Well, I don’t. Truthfully. But I make time. I make time for work, I make time for my boys, I make time for cooking, shopping, laundry…I may skimp on the cleaning from time to time (or some would say always)…I make time. I don’t wait for the time fairy to drop me an hour here or there. It doesn’t happen. Do I regret the time I spent home with my kids? HECK NO! Never! But I am where I need to be, right here, right now. And it’s never felt so right before. I digress.

So many hours spent in hospitals with this little dude. Soooooo many hours.

Are times tough? Dear goodness. I guess I kind of understand the curiosity. But rest assured, my decision to work off the farm is all about fulfillment and living out a dream, not because I need to put food on the table. But thanks for the concern.

Although work may be a four-letter word, it doesn’t have to be. I go to work and feel challenged, driven to improve, excited to learn the next step, motivated to improve myself…I don’t even know if I can explain it all, but that’s getting pretty close.

And don’t worry, I still spend plenty of time doing “farm stuff.” But that doesn’t seem like “work” either.

A Saturday evening, spent in a peaceful tractor, chasing a combine.

Work, don’t work. Do what is right for you. Every decision in life is one that leads us down another path. I just so happen to be very satisfied on the path I’m on right now. And without my other paths, I’d never have arrived at where I am. (Stick with me, it makes complete sense in my head.)

As someone, somewhere once said, “Happiness is just a state of mind.”

I truly have the best of all worlds.