New Chapter
The events of yesterday have left my head spinning and I still feel a bit like I'm having an out-of-body experience. I spent a great deal of time last night trying to make sense of it all. How did I get here and why? I've realized that the greatest gifts I have received were the ones I could never have known to ask for. My baby sister, my brother, Mindy, my super fat -- the greatest ever -- JT, my BFF, the friends I've made through my running group, Victoria -- never could I have thought to ask for the gifts they contribute to my life every day. I know that, and try to live every day of my life focused on, Colton is the greatest of my gifts. I was totally unprepared at the tender age of 21 for what that little tiny boy would do to my life and my heart. I work harder, learn more and strive to be a better person because of him. It's ridiculous at times how crazy in love with a human being you can be and he has taught me so many beautiful lessons through the 14 years I've spent as his mother. My move to Georgia was never on the "to do list" I'd created for myself and it proved to be one of the best and worst experiences I've had both personally and professionally. Without this move I wouldn't have had the chance to truly find myself and connect with who I am and what I really, really want out of my life. I didn't know if I could be successful on my own, felt like I was riding someone else's coattails and that I truly hadn't earned the life I was living. Call me crazy but that's how I felt. Then I burned out and made the decision to strike out on my own and recreate my life. I was able to take Colton to school every day and pick him up every day -- I'd never been able to do that before. I also realized that I am incredibly passionate about what I do and am actually good at it. I've met so many interesting people and worked on very interesting projects and it has helped me develop a stronger voice and advocate for myself. I had to really step outside of my comfort level to make sales calls, demand payment from clients that were a tad slow on the draw and figure out how to trust contractors to do quality work without being able to look over their shoulders. The past two years have been financially rough and emotionally draining at times. The constant push of having your own business is definitely not for the weak or meek and I found that I'm neither of those things. The past two years has helped me refocus on what is truly important and money is not one of those things. Living a comfortable lifestyle is one of those things, being able to provide for my child is one of those things. This experience has brought me back to the basics of living and appreciating every dollar and what that means to my being able to provide for my family.
Through this process I realized that I love my life. Seriously, I have a good home, I have an amazing son, great family and friends and I love where I am right now -- living in each moment. Reaching that point brought me another unexpected gift -- Patrick -- and with him, Kaitlyn. He is an amazing, compassionate, intelligent, driven, kind and loving man and makes each day even brighter for me. His support and encouragement makes me feel like I can achieve anything and I don't ever want to know what it is to not have him in my life. We connect on a level I didn't know was possible. It's been an amazing journey so far and I look forward to building our future. So, three weeks ago, when I received a call from a company interested in interviewing me I thought "what the heck" (even though I wasn't looking for a job) I've got nothing to lose and it will help reaffirm my commitment to building my business. Another unexpected gift. I fell in love with the company and its people the moment I walked in the door. The initial interview went so well he got me into see two of the three additional principles. Those interviews went so well that they scheduled a meeting with the company president...which I had yesterday. I fell in love with him too. I didn't know that a financial firm could be so focused on quality of life and family. The partners actually started the company because they wanted to see their children grow. They are humble, and as the president told me yesterday they "don't think their shit doesn't stink", success-oriented and believe in hiring good people and giving them the tools and education they need to do great things. My mecca. They offered me the position of Marketing Officer yesterday. The room felt like it was spinning and I have to tell you that when he said the words "medical and dental insurance" I had to stop myself from jumping over the table and full-on kissing him on the mouth. It's a tremendous professional opportunity -- the company is wildly successful and has not had anyone doing formal marketing for them so I get to create the processes, campaigns, etc. -- my fingerprints will be all over everything -- and personally I will be able to provide for Colton the way I did before I left Life U. I will keep my business going on the side as well.
My life is incredibly blessed and I have to say it's all a bit unexpected but greatly appreciated. I look forward to this new chapter and the people and experiences it will bring into my life. My cup runeth over.