Two months ago, I left a traditional job to be a stay-at-home mom/writer. Since then, I often get asked how things are going, so I thought I would share some of the challenges and rewards of making a career change.
One of the things I was most apprehensive about was how I was going to fill my days so I wouldn't go “stir crazy,” especially during the long month of January. I was used to being extremely busy and worried that I might not have enough to do. The remedy to that, of course, is to make sure that I do have plenty of things to do.
Whether it is writing my book, cleaning out closets or doing volunteer work, each day I have things I want to accomplish. Meanwhile, I go out for coffee and lunch with family, friends and former co-workers so we keep our bonds strong. Maintaining friendships always has been important to me and I know that staying connected is an important part of doing that.
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Writing
Keeping busy and getting together with friends, along with attending my children’s school activities and sports, helped the month of January sail by. This month, I am even busier as I have several freelance stories to write for publications. Several of them are agricultural stories and I was delighted to be asked if I would write them.
I covered a day of educational workshops at a farm meeting this month to get the information for the stories and thoroughly enjoyed listening to the updates on various agricultural production issues. I covered agriculture for Agweek magazine for about half of my career with the Herald, developing many sources and meeting a lot of good people. It was fun for me to catch up with some of them at the farm meeting.
I also enjoyed having the opportunity to learn some new things about agriculture. I grew up on a farm and, later, as an adult, helped my dad and brother on the farm. Although, it has been a couple of decades since they farmed, I still have strong ties to agriculture. Attending farm meetings and writing stories about the information presented keeps me in the loop.
Another thing I like about freelancing is the variety of stories. I don’t just cover one “beat” but write about a variety of topics. It may be agriculture one day followed by a feature story and then a business story. Diverse topics keep freelancing interesting and give me an opportunity to meet a variety of people.
Family
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While writing is a passion, family is my focus, and, for me, the biggest benefit of not working at a traditional job is that I can plan my schedule around my children and husband. I can pick up Ellen, my fifth-grader, at school every day, leave in the mid-afternoon to attend my sons’ sporting events, have lunch with my husband or clear my schedule if they are all at home because of a snow day.
Besides asking how things are going, people also ask me if I plan to get a job. I tell them that I don’t know what the future holds. If there is a job opening for a job in which I could use my skills and which is flexible enough to fit my family’s schedule, I probably would apply for it. For now, though, life is good and I am thoroughly enjoying it.
I know that not everyone wants to or can leave their traditional jobs. I didn’t make the decision to do so until two months ago and it wasn’t one that I took lightly. I thought about it, talked to my family and prayed before I decided to make a leap of faith. It turned out to be the best decision for me at this time in my life.
Recently I heard a commentator on Catholic radio who was talking about a career change she had made say, “If God brings you to it, He is going to see you through it.”
Amen to that.
Reach Bailey at annb08@dishmail.net or (218) 779-8093 .
