Tuesday, September 18, 2007

And now for something completely different...

The past few months have been... trying. I have had this balancing act going on between working two jobs, running the education center, being a mommy, church and trying to keep my house in some semblance of order. Jacob has been incredibly patient, watching Sophie while I do all my running and so on. But finally my spinning plates have all come crashing down. I am stressed out. Way stressed out. Stressed out to the point that I had to have an intervention by Momma and Sherie. I won't go into the details of my slow mental demise, let's just suffice to say it was ugly.

So what to do? I have to quit something. No one thing that I do stresses me out- it's the accumulation of everything that puts my nerves in a food processor.

What about the education center. Let's be frank, if I quit the education center, it would close. No one else is interested enough to keep it going. While we don't have a big client base yet, the few that do come in are worth the effort. And we are growing fairly quickly, much to my delight. I really feel like this is something that God laid on my heart to do, and I know He will be faithful to complete it. I'm not quitting this.

My job with PEERS pays the best with the least amount of hours. In fact- working 20 hours a week from home with PEERS is more money than working 30 hours a week at the print shop. The income is not "steady", it depends on what I put into it, which so far has been bare minimum. But- I could develop this into something full time, if I had the time. I'm pretty sure this could be my living if I was willing to put more time into it.

So that leaves my job. My "real" job.
- My job with the steady income but more hours.
- The job I went to college for.
- The job I am quitting.

I put my two weeks notice in today after a long talk last night with Jacob and my "interveners". Jacob and I decided that this would be best not just for me, but for our family. This way I can be home with Sophie. I can schedule my hours around what is good for us. I will only have to work 20 hours a week, whenever I want. Weekends, sure. After Sophie is in bed, great. Whenever I can. Semester break for the schools is right when Keegan is due, so I can take my maternity leave and start back when I am ready to, rather than when I am scheduled to.

I've got to tell you- last night I was not sure this was the right decision. I really enjoy my job. I like what I do. But I like being in my right mind more. This morning I woke up quite sure it was what I needed to do, and I did it. So as of October 1st, I will be working from home. Or from Mom's. Or from wherever I want to. And I'm pretty dang excited about that!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm excited for you too!

JamieLynn said...

aw Andi, that's great news! I bet you already feel a sense of relief, and I'm SURE this was no easy decision to make. So glad you have such a supportive family!

Heidi Kellems said...

I am SOOO EXCITED for you Andi....Your mom slipped me the secret today at lunch. She told me how much stress you have been under. Then we got to think of the AWESOME things you will be able to get to do with Sophie (and Keegan) like storytime at the library, going to the splash park, watching both of your kids growing up. I AM SOO VERY EXCITED!!! NO MORE TEARS BABY and NO LOOKING BACK :D

Courtney said...

I'm so excited for you too! I think it sounds like you're going to have a best of everything from this decision! Sophie and your new little one will be so blessed to have you around so much more! I'm sure your DH will appreciate the less-stressed wife too. That was a big motivating factor for me deciding to SAH. :-)

Lindsey: Mama of Andrew, Adam, and Ally said...

Congratulations on such a big decision! It sounds like you made a good choice! Definitely have to keep your mind in a good place and not overly stressed. Blessings to you!

Patricia said...

what a dream come true.

actually, i remember when your mom blogged about this. so it's truly an answer to prayers. i'm really happy for you.

Staci said...

Good Luck, Andi! I hope it's everything you hope it will be and more! ~S

Valerie Swartz said...

well I will pray that you can have peace about your decision and hopefully all will fall into place;-)

VaQueenBee said...

Andi...I'm very happy and excited for you, Jacob, and Sophie! Sometimes the Lord lets us work ourselves into a corner and the only way we can look is UP! I'm glad you sought His guidance with this decision, and it sounds like a great choice!