Tag Archives: mother

Boys, career, radical sabbatical, Teaching, Wordsmith

Be Changing Your Career in an Exorbitant Way

9 Comments

Hi Mom’s and Dad’s that have chosen to give up or change their careers because a wee one came into your life, I am sitting with you as I write this. Grab a cup of tea and strap yourselves in… I have a major wondering today.

Do you ever have a sense that your career changed in an exorbitant way because of your wee ones arrival on earth?

I have been thinking about my time on earth and my career a lot lately as I continue working through the gift of grief that my mom gave me in 2013. Yup, almost 10 years since that fateful day that our Super Nana died and I began my personal journey experiencing the finality of death.

With incredible clarity, I took leave from my career when our oldest came into the world almost sixteen years ago. I was a teacher, coach, volunteer and an advocate of campus education, but when that blonde haired boy with that straight edge part and blue eyes came into the world, my life pivoted and my career path changed forever. I never stepped back into a campus classroom full time and I have never wanted to. I am proud of the fact that I could help keep things simple in our family’s life by being the person “on the home front”. I never wanted someone else to raise my children or see their “firsts” or major milestones. I wanted to be the person to spend the most amount of time each day with them. We are only give twenty-four hours in each day. Those first few years on one income as we added wee one #2 and #3 were years of focus and frugalness, but our family never did without. We went down to one car, bought a home with a suite, took in international students, cut cable and reduced our expenses, by as much as possible, through figuring out what our needs versus wants were.

As the kids grew older, I took forays into selling Hawaiian Green tea directly to customers, ventured into Referral Marketing of health products, worked as an online teacher at a Vancouver-based school and even worked in my dream job as a part time Physical Education Teacher at an elementary school. This is what I wanted to share about today and is the reason I decided to write this blog post . This P.E. teaching job was absolutely perfect for me. I worked a half day Monday and full days Tuesday and Wednesday. I had the gym doors open every single day at lunch for the students. I felt that I could be creative in the physical literacies that I taught and truly impact the school as a whole in terms of health and wellness. I had personal time to train for and race small triathlons on the weekends. PLUS, I could be there for my own blue crew on the four days I wasn’t working as well as not work momentously long days doing prep for my teaching job. BUT, the boys didn’t enjoy getting themselves to and from their own campus school in grades 1, 3 and 5. They began fighting a lot and being unkind to each other on a level that reminded me of growing up when my mom went back to teaching when I was in grade 1. My dream job was no longer my dream job as I left to work with upset kids at 7:45am or came home to chaos at 4:00pm. Due to my family of origin and sibling experience, I have a very low tolerance for my boys treating each other like a-holes just because they are related. The dream career came to a clear closure.

I changed my career in an exorbitant manner yet again. I said no to a returning contract as a Physical Education teacher and came back home full time for the next few years. During 2020, I was drawn back to work as an online teacher again at a new K-city based private school, which I love, but isn’t without some friction within my family.

During this winter season, I have often wondered, what would I be doing if I hadn’t changed my career in such drastic ways. What would my days look like? Where would we be living? Who would I be surrounded by? I am not sure if any other mom’s or dad’s can relate, but I sometimes wonder if I have given up too much. This life I lead working from home is often lonely, isolated and takes a lot of personal motivation/momentum as I don’t walk the halls or share daily energy with any colleagues anymore. I have always had big dreams, an ever growing thought life and a vision of making a major, positive impact on the world around me. By keeping my vision narrow and focused on my family, perhaps I have lost the bigger picture of my life.

Career change

On top of more career change.

With three children.

Narrow focus.

Big picture.

Exorbitant.

Or not?

I am not sure.

Have an epic Sunday folks and love what you do.

xoxo Joanna

Family, Parenting

Be Writing A Letter To Cancer

3 Comments

Yup, cancer. The big C. The beast. The indiscriminate illness. One of our worst nightmares. I am talking about you little c-a-n-c-e-r.

First, I want to introduce you to my mama. She’s magnificent. Really magnificent. She celebrated her seventieth birthday in a March. In April, she rode in a Tour de France training Camp for two weeks riding sometimes 90 kms per day. She even fell off her bike three times.

Yup, that’s my mom, she’s one tough, athletic, caring and beautiful woman.

20130726-184345.jpg

She came from a small farming town where she rode a horse to school. She is resilient.

She loved helping her dad around the farm rather than hanging out with her mom in the kitchen. She is strong.

She was a leader at school as well as an academic and basketball star. She is all around smart.

She put herself through University to become an excellent teacher and then she gave up her career when my sister and I came along. She is passionate and compassionate.

She went back to work once I hit school and she managed to do it all – work, home cooked meals, travel, organize our lives, plan fabulous parties and I could go on. She can do it all!

Cancer, I almost forgot to tell you, if my mom is feeling tired and weary from trying to cast you away. She’s got my dad at her side. Her knight. Her partner in crime. No cracks have I seen in their 42 years of marriage. He’s even put his golf clubs on the shelf, so watch out. He is a force!

Plus you’ve got to add one power into this “thing” you are trying to do in my mom’s body – God. My sister and I plus our hubbies, we know Jesus. We know his power to heal and transform lives. You bet we will have our mom and dad covered with prayer. We know the angels will be sitting by her beside. We will also be by my mom’s side to love her up and keep her going, especially with a few good books, reality tv shows and neck kisses.

And if that ain’t enough, we have got family and friends all over the world ready to kick your butt. Special niece in Spain, nephew up north, siblings to the east/south and friends in PG, Vtown, Western Canada, Australia, and 100 Mile. You don’t know who you are dealing with.

So, cancer now that you’ve met my mom, and her team brace yourself because you aren’t going to know what hit you! And we haven’t even met her medical team yet!

Uncategorized

Be A Liebster

5 Comments

liebster blog award, liebster award, liebster blog, blog awards

WOW!  I am humbled!  Chana and Rebecca have nominated me for a Liebster Award.  Their blogs have been inspiring to me.  I appreciate Chana’s encouragement.  I am honoured to answer these questions and to nominate nine other bloggers I read on a regular basis.  Yes, I know it should be eleven! 🙂

Find Chana  at http://littleduckies.wordpress.com  and Rebecca at http://thedissocialmom.wordpress.com/

The Liebster Blog Award is given to new bloggers with less than 200 followers.  The rules are:

1. Tell 11 things about yourself.

2. Answer 11 questions from the blogger who nominated you.

3. Nominate 11 bloggers, and post 11 questions for them to answer.

Eleven Facts About Myself:

1.  I am a northern girl, from a redneck, sports-minded, outdoors, pulp mill, sawmill kind of city. It was a good place to grow up.

2. I married my true love by choice at 23 years old.

3. My love is my family, including Sexy Neck and my 3 boys, but my passions are coaching, being active outside, and organizing the heck out of everything.

4. I love Jesus ever since I met him in University.  He is alive!

5. My friends are very important to me and I have and incredibly  great circle of friends who encourage my crazy ideas.

6. I am not afraid of change, but I find change hard.  Hmmm…

7. I don’t eat wheat.

8. I am a teacher who struggles with schooling.

9.  This year, for over a year I have been following Ann Voskamp’s blog and counting 1000 gifts.  Today, I wrote down my 1,200 thing that I am thankful for – It was: “Being outside in the sun with my boys.”

10. I am Canadian, eh!  Can you tell by all my words having extra “u”‘s in them – favourite, neighbourhood, honoured etc.

11. I love the blogging world because of its authenticity and instant communication.  I am honoured to join this world.

Eleven Questions from Chana (little duckies.wordpress.com)

1) The 3 most important things in my life are my relationship with Jesus, my husband and my boys… well that is more than 3! hmmm… how strict are the rules?

2) I decided to start blogging because I love writing, I love sharing and I needed an outlet during a very challenging time.

3) Books or television?  Books, we got rid of television once I realized I had an addiction to reality TV.

4) If someone accused your child of bullying theirs, how would you react?  I would pray hard then teach my child and my child’s friends on what to do with a bully.

5) I love reading books that my book club members recommend, self-help books about money and self-improvement and christian fiction.

6) What do you consider to be the most important factor in a marriage? Quality time, not quantity as we have three wee boys bouncing off the walls.

7) There are many, many older (30+) singles today, as well as a high rate of divorce.  What do you think is the cause? Lack of perseverance – life is a sequence of choices and consequences.

8) Why did you choose your city of residence? Weather, outdoor activities, proximity to relatives.

9) How do you and your spouse handle finances? We follow a budget, talk about most major household purchases (over $200) and we each have our own pot of money that we do whatever we want with.

10) What is your favorite household chore?  washing windows

11) The classic: If you won the lottery, what would you do with the money? Pay off our mortgage, buy a new car, donate money to our church and a school in Rwanda, buy my parents a trip or a condo on a golf course, give my nieces and nephews some money for school.

My questions for my Nominees:

1. What website do you check almost every day?

2. Favourite colour to wear?

3. Coffee or tea? Why?

4. What is your favourite season?

5. What are you reading right now ( book or Kobo etc.)?

6. Why blog?

7. Who is the most inspiring person in your life right now?

8.  Do you have a comfort item? If yes, tell us more.

9. Favourite childhood memory?

10. What job did you want to do when you were little?

11.  The classic: What 3 things would you want if you were on a stranded island?

My Nominations:

https://foodiegardeningclub.wordpress.com (My foodie friend’s blog)

http://journeythrugrace.wordpress.com/ (Well said, I can relate!)

http://notsospanish.wordpress.com/ (My cousin who inspired me to blog)

http://enjoylifeforonce.com/ (Love the realness of this blog)

http://rogertharpe.wordpress.com/ (God speaks to me through this blog)

http://tutordoctorofwny.wordpress.com/ (Love this teaching blog)

http://brownpaperbelle.com/  (What a beautiful, inspiring blog)

http://jaydonanddaddy.com/ (He’s a Liebster, but I love Wordless Wednesdays)

http://my3monsters.wordpress.com/ (She has 3 kids too!)