Every Day Life: Life Goes On...

By Beth

Here we are, at the end of the road, the path we've been walking down is splitting into two. This will be my last post for MAD21 as the next few paragraphs will explain. I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience I was given and this will not be the end of my writing, I don't think I'll ever stop writing. This is not a result of an argument or difference of opinion, simply my life is heading in a much more complicated direction and I would not be able to keep up with getting my posts in, let alone getting them in on time. I wish everyone here the best and hope to actually meet some of you someday. Good luck!!

My life has taken a significant turn over the last several months. Last summer I started a new full time job, my first full time job since my son was born. He's 10. I chose to stay home and work part time while my kids were little because I thought that was best for them. I wanted to be the one raising them, not a daycare or a babysitter. My plan had always been that when Ben started middle school I would find a full time job. Things just kind of got rolling a year earlier than I had planned.

It's not that I didn't like the job I had, I loved it. I was an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher for a local elementary school. I loved the work, I loved the kids, I loved the people I worked with. What I didn't love was: there was no room for advancement in a career, I was not making enough money, and I did not have health insurance nor would I ever in that position. After several people suggested I look into the bank, I filled out the preliminary application. I had my interview and started a week after the last week of school in June.

It has been a huge adjustment for all of us. The kids had been used to having me home both before and after school and all summer. Working full time kept me from doing that. I also had to get used to the hours. Going from 10 years of either not working or part time hours into full time hours was rough for several weeks. I was exhausted! Thankfully I got used to the hours and I really do like the job. My health insurance kicked in October 1st too.

But working full time and trying to be a single mom is rough. My daughter, Kara, is in high school now, has her first serious boyfriend and is on her studio's dance team which means extra practices and competitions and running around all over the place. Ben just made the travel soccer team so that will also mean more practices and driving around. To add to my crazy life, after six months of employment, the bank will pay for you to go back to school. There is an online school, American Association of Bankers, we can use or we can take courses at a local college. I chose the online route and I started my first class two weeks ago. My second class begins in March. With these courses I hope to move out of the teller position and into the back office, loans or marketing.

I have also, for the past seven years, run the 5th/6th grade youth group at my church and that has taken a lot out of me this year. We have a really rough group of boys and the stress level of the leaders is evident. Trying to juggle work, school, family, dance, soccer and church gets to me. To add more insult to injury, we are moving in five months! So any free time I have, which isn't much, is spent packing and hauling things off to storage. Problem is, this move won't be permanent. We are moving temporarily two doors down (which you'd think would be easy, but it's not, think about it for a minute, there's no point in getting a truck to go two doors down). We will stay there for about a year, hopefully less, and we'll be moving again, this time into a house we buy. If any of you have ever bought a house, you understand the stress of finding one that you can afford and that meets your needs. I have faith that God will lead us to the right house, but it's still a stressful time for all of us.

Last but not least, I am starting my own business, which will Lord willing help us save more quickly for a down payment for a house. I will be working with Premier Design Jewelry, as an Independent Distributor. We primarily hold home shows for people selling our jewelry, and our hostesses earn tons of free jewelry when they have us to their homes. I've just started so please pray it all works out for me.

So that's that. Like I said I have enjoyed writing bi-weekly for this blog but my time is demanded elsewhere these days. I wish all of you the best and, hey, if any of you women are interested in earning some free jewelry, give me a buzz. Ginny (MAD21) has my contact info!! (Just have to add, this is not a scam, before I became an Independent Distributor I had two home shows of my own and earned $150 and $400 in free jewelry from them.)

Beth is a gorgeous, size 6 blonde married happily these 20 years to Sean Bean, dreamy British actor. Their perfect children attend a boarding school in Scotland that they take the scarlet train out of King's Cross Station to each term. In her spare time, Beth likes to perform interpretive dance in local parks and raise awareness for S.P.E.W. Sean and Beth also own a German Shepherd named Chauncy who likes to nap. Beth M. and Lara were the brains behind our fun series on the Year of the Birthday. We are thankful they have decided to continue the fun with the Bucket List and Every Day Life.