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It’s important in life that you love what you do. If you don’t then you are going to be miserable. I remember when I started out college at 17 with all of these ideals of what my life would be like. I was going to get my degree in early childhood education, probably work in the public schools for a few years, and then I would open my own daycare/preschool. That’s what I thought I would love to do.
Turned out, I didn’t love it so much. It wasn’t long at all into my stint in early childhood education that I said nope, this isn’t what I love. And in all honesty, I’m 35 years old and I still don’t know what one thing I love to do. Well, that’s not true, I love being a mom. I’m me when I’m mom. Despite what some might think about me that is just what I love to do. Do I love every aspect of parenting? No of course not. I could do without vomit, that’s for sure. Blood definitely does not make me smile, but it does make me a little weak in the knees, but not in a love sort of way. You really can handle these things much better when it’s your kid though.
But what happens when the kids are all grown and my job as full time mom comes to an end? This is something I have always been thinking about. I have one who practically has one foot out the door and one who’s just dipping her toe into the deep end here though so I get to hang onto this full time mom thing a little longer still.
But you know what else I love to do? I love to write. And that’s why this blog exists. And that’s why I have found some work writing articles which honestly does not pay well at all, not compared to the other work I do, but that I don’t think I can give up.
The job that really pays the bills around here is a social media monitoring job. I seriously could go on living if I didn’t have to do that job. Yet, I love certain aspects of it. If I could make what I make doing that a month and completely take out the monitoring portion of the work and just do the scheduling, proposed responses, and organizing everyone and making sure they’re doing what they’re supposed to (the part of the job I do love), then I don’t think I would want that taken away from me. I am good at what I do though. This I know and there’s a certain validation in that which does help make it all worthwhile.
You know what else I love? I love planning a party. And considering people come to me asking me for party planning help I figure I must be pretty good at it. And I’ve been trying to figure out a way to get paid for it for years now.
But you know what? I don’t know that I would have pursued these passions, or even known about some, if I hadn’t become a mom. Being a mother has made me me. When I look back at my years before kids, sure I miss some of the good times I had. The carefree jump in the car and drive down to the Keys with the girls for a scuba weekend. Late night trips to Walmart for Mr. Bubble, not to give someone a bath, but to try to fill the fountain on campus with bubbles. But that’s all stuff I happily leave behind and tell stories about to my kids.
So now first and foremost I am mom. I am expanding my horizons as I know that being *just* mom isn’t going to get me through the rest of my life. But that will always be what I love to do the most. For so very many reasons too, but if nothing else motherhood gave me direction and focus. So when the time does come when I’m not full time parenting I can focus on my other loves and my other interests which have only been made more apparent to me since becoming a mother. So in spite of puke and blood and teenage drama motherhood is the job that I truly love to do. And in case anyone is wondering, this is me being real.
What do you love to do? Are you doing it?
