What Do You Do?

Let me start by saying that this is not going to be a rant about how stay at home moms do more work than anyone in the world. I'm not here to argue if it is harder to be a working mom or to stay home with the kids. They are both hard and it really shouldn't be a competition. Some moms choose to work. Some work because they have to and some choose to stay home. I respect all of those choices. We are all just moms trying to do what is best for our families. Mad props to all moms! Working, stay at home, part-time I love you all!

I just want to talk about where I'm at in my life right now and how I feel about it. I get asked "what do you do?" and "So, when are you going to finish school?" on a weekly basis. I would love to just put it all out there in hopes that someone else that is in my situation might be proud to answer instead of feeling like they have to make up excuses for why they stay home with their kids or haven't finished school yet.

In the spring of 2008 I graduated from Harding Academy. I was young and naive and I knew exactly what I was going to do with the rest of my life. Ha! 

The plan was:  I would to go to Lipscomb University and room with 7 of my best friends. I would graduate promptly in 4 years with a bible degree emphasizing in Mission work. After college I would travel the world for a couple of years and then settle down with someone and enjoy the married life for 4 or 5 years before becoming a mother. Awesome plan right?

Now, let's take a look at what the last 6 years of my life actually looked like...

I did go to Lipscomb and live with my 7 friends for one year. Then I went to Chicago to live in the inner-city and participate in Mission Year. I took classes online with Eastern University, but I learned way more than I could have imagined through the people that I lived and worked with than I ever could have learned in school. That year changed my path in so many ways but I will save all of that for a later post :) After Mission Year I moved back home to Memphis. I started school at the University of Memphis and a few months later met the man of my dreams. We fell in love and got married 15 months later. During that time I majored in social work, early education, and then finally nursing. I ended up with a degree in none of those things. I spend my days hanging out with this guy.

You know I can't resist an opportunity to share a picture of this guy :)

My plan changed a lot from what I thought it was going to be when I graduated high school. I value higher education but I do not believe that my self worth is affected by whether or not I have attained a college diploma or earn a paycheck in the workforce. 

When people ask me if I have finished school and I tell them not yet a glimpse of pity flashes across their face. Poor girl had an unplanned pregnancy and it threw her life off track. 

My life might not look like the plan I made up when I was 18 but there is nothing sad about it. I made the decision to take a break from school. I am blessed with the opportunity to stay home with my child. I don't take this blessing lightly. 

It makes me sad that my decision gets misconstrued into the idea that I am missing out on something that I could have had.

I get to use my God-given gifts every day. I believe that this is what I was made to do. I have dreamed of being a wife and mother for as long as I can remember and I am living out my dreams. I am very fulfilled in what I do. I have not sacrificed my potential. 

I am very happy and content with my life. I still make plans for the future but I am also really excited to see what God's plans are even if they don't look anything like mine. I pray that I will always be content with what I am doing whether that is staying at home with my kids, finishing school one day, or working outside of the home.