I had worked in Real Estate for 11 years, and 8 of those years I worked for Trisha & Joanna, Real Estate Agents of RE/MAX Associates.
After Wyatt was born, I switched to part-time hours, and I was able to bring Wyatt with me to work for 2 of the days I went in to the office...but my heart was no longer in Real Estate. I longed to be a full-time mommy. Almost 3 years later I got pregnant with Beatrice, and Rick and I decided that at the end of that pregnancy I would stay home full-time.
It was a WONDERFUL blessing! I was so excited to be welcoming our daughter into the world AND to not have to leave her (and Wyatt) at some point in the morning to head off to work. I was a full time mom for 1 year, and within a month of Beatrice celebrating her 1st birthday, Rick had some health issues, and we were 99% sure he was going to be out of work for a while. As much as it killed me to do it, I called my boss Trisha (Joanna was no longer with the company) and asked her if I could come back to work. I was working longer hours at first, but when we found out that Rick was going to be able to continue working at his company, I cut my hours WAY back to just 8 hours a week...4 hours on one day in the office, and then 4 hours working from home. As soon as we knew Rick's job was fine, I continued to work those shorter hours so we could pay off our debt. Rick's car was already paid off, but we had accumulated some credit card debt, and we had the loan on the mini van. We designed an aggressive budget and made it our mission to become debt free! In addition to being a mom and an employee, I am involved in MANY church activities, and playgroups. On most days, life was overwhelming becuase I was over-working myself. I needed to cut something out of my life, but I had good reasons and a desire to keep every single one of my commitments...I just kept plugging along. 18 months later we paid off the credit card, and 3 months after that the van was paid off! It was a GIANT weight lifted off of my shoulders...not only were we debt free, but we had accomplished a HUGE goal for our family. We had made SO many sacrifices during that time. But it was ALL worth it when we reached the finish line! We paid off our debt last month, and I continued to work for 1 final month to build up our savings account.
And then...finally...my last day of work arrived!!! I was beyond excited for my family, and we had so much joy going into my final morning in the office. I expected it to be just like any other day in the office...get in...do my work...leave...and then be excited with my family afterward. But my bosses were SO much cooler than that. As soon as I walked into to my office, I knew it wasn't going to be a normal day...
I was shocked to see my desk completely decorated! They had even had a card for me that was signed by all of the other Realtors and admin staff in the office....SO NICE!
Within an hour, my boss had brought me in a flower arrangement that she had done herself. She had picked different flowers to represent qualities in my character that she admires about me...I'll spare you the gooey details, but her words were exceptionally kind.
She then went on to say that the best part about this arrangement is that they figured out that money does not grow on trees, but that it grows on the stems of flowers. I honestly hadn't noticed it at first, but sure enough, there was money wrapped around the stems of the flowers! SO exciting! :0)
After doing only an hour of actual work, my bosses (Trish and her new Real Estate Partner Judy), and their new assistant Crystal (whom I ADORE!), took me out for Brunch at Sea Port Village. The view was incredible, and the food was delicious...
After we ate, they asked if we could take some final photographs... :0)
I was overwhelmed by their generosity and the love they showed me on that day. I pray that I will never need to return to my paid job, but it is wonderful to know that I have a great place to go back to should that be required. :0)
So other than my plate of food at brunch...why is this post Chubby Diaries worthy??? Well ever since my family became aware of the generous bonus I had received, I have been continually asked what I was going to spend the money on. I tithed 10% of it, then I gave Rick some, I put some in our savings account, and then I had this chunk of change remaining. I had no idea what I was going to do with it!? My first inclination was to buy some fun clothes for my vacation (in 3 weeks!!!), but I thought that was lame seeming as though I don't plan to be in this size for much longer. I had also contemplated doing nothing with it immediately, but to wait for a rainy day. However, as soon as I walked in the gym on Monday, I knew EXACTLY what I wanted to spend the money on! A personal trainer! I have never done anything like this, and it was a substantial amount of money, so I took this idea very seriously. I spent the next few days interviewing the personal trainers at my YMCA, and by Thursday I had selected a trainer, and paid for 6 sessions. I start on Monday...they are 1 hour sessions...2 sessions per week...for the next 3 weeks. My final session will be the day before I leave for vacation.
I'm not gonna lie, I'm completely nervous about it, but so far the excitement is overpowering the anxiety. :0)
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