A Season for Everything

I love reflecting (yes, Enneagram 1 in the house) on how things are going for our family. I've been working outside the home each day for three months now. Is working beneficial to our marriage? My ability to parent? My mental health? Overall, it has been a good thing making me feel more whole. This isn't to say that working outside the house is what completes me, it's part of it – just like being part of my hockey team!

Going Back to Work

Back in 2001, I started teaching science and that is when I met Gary who was a fellow first-year science teacher. I always imagined I would teach my entire life but through circumstances (health, kids, travel) I ended up having a variety of roles. I volunteered in Kenya, we started a photography business, I worked in social media and we became foster parents. I stayed connected to teaching through substitute teaching but it has been nine years since I've had a classroom of my own.

 If I have learned one thing over these past 17 years it would be that it's nice to have a five-year plan but be open to change and opportunities.

This is wild for me because Louise is a five-year plan kind of girl. I mean, probably even more like a ten-year-plan one. Committing six months or a year of your life to something might seem scary but it doesn't need to be forever and the growth that can happen from it is so worth it. I have learned so much and I'm glad I said "yes" to opportunities that came my/our way.

A New Chapter

In September all three of our biological kids (yes, that's how you talk when you have bio and foster kids) will be in school full time. I hadn't given it much thought as to what I would do work-wise once that happened and this spring I suddenly realized what was on the horizon. Knowing that our baby girl was likely transitioning home around the same time I needed to consider if we would continue fostering or if I could use this new-found freedom for something else.