#WQWWC......September 1st Theme....Work or Career/Employment

It's another week of  Writer's Quotes Wednesday, hosted by Marsha from Always Write. If you're interested in joining, you can find more about #WQWWC here.

This week is being hosted by Yvette from Priorhouse Blog. Our theme is work/career.

Once I was in Jr. High and High School, I began babysitting. This afforded me extra money and flexibility to be involved in other school activities (I was in band and on the drill/dance team). I then worked as a CNA, and once I went off to college I worked in a Napa Auto Parts Distribution Center. Married, worked for 3 years as a receptionist for a heating and cooling company and then got to stay home with our two girls for the next 17 years. To be honest, that was my favorite time, staying home. I loved home life, still do. 

In 2013, things were a bit tight financially and we decided I probably needed to find a job outside the home. Our girls were a senior and a freshman. This caused quite a bit of anxiety for me (who is never anxious about anything) because, here I was, a stay at home mom....what did I know how to do after 17 years of not working. Doors opened and I had the wonderful opportunity to help an older lady out for the next 3 years at her home. I did her shopping, cleaned her house, took her to appointments, mowed her lawn, kept her company. It worked out great. Then came the day she needed more care than I could provide so she moved to a care facility, I knew I needed another job, cue anxious feelings. Again, another door opened and my son in laws aunt (whom I've known for years) approached me about working for her at her little mailbox shipping store. I've been there 4 years and while my hubby would love for me to find a job that pays more and has benefits, I love this job. I love interacting with the public, having a variety of things to do, and my co-workers. It's also about 5-7 minutes from my home. I also do virtual assisting for 3 bloggers, which I really enjoy, though I wish I had more time to put into this, even doing this more full time, but it just hasn't panned out financially to only focus on this at the moment. 

So work for me as been a journey. My dream would still be to stay home and do virtual work and pour into my family more often (I now have two grandbabies). But until that time, I do enjoy what I do. 

Let's get on to some great quotes I found. 

Of course there are days I don't want to go to work, BUT I do love my job and so it really doesn't feel like drudgery, I never dread going to work. There's never anything to complain about. 

"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do" 

Steve Jobs

There are so many people I observe that seem to hate or just dislike their jobs. I get that sometimes,  you have to just take what's available because you do have to make a living, BUT, there has to come a point when you either change your perspective or change your job! 

That is an interesting quote. I wouldn't necessarily define what I do as a career. Maybe I've mis-defined the term career, but I usually see it as something that has either required schooling, or perhaps a higher level position. But as I think about it more, a career is perhaps simply something that you've decided you want to pour your heart into. Maybe it's being a barista (my girls are and love it), maybe it is doing what I do, or perhaps a career managing peoples social media pages. Good food for thought. 

"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream"

How good is this above quote. It is so easy to decide at some point that we are just too old for something new. It can be scary the older we get. After 20+ years at the same job (as a pastor and church associate), my husband found himself on the hunt for a new job, as someone in your late 40's who has only ever worked one job, that can be scary. Thankfully he found a company that was willing to take a chance on him and he has thrived in his positions. 

I will admit, I'm not the best at this, but it's a good challenge. What's a new goal I can set or a dream I can dream. 

Oh how true this above quote is. We have to remember to slow down, to enjoy life, to take time for us and those around us. If all we're doing is worrying about making money, and we don't take time to enjoy the life we have, we're wasting the time we've been given. I get that often life is hard and there are so many struggling, BUT what are we doing with our life....we can work hard to get by and still make a life in the midst of it all. It takes intentionality. 

I can't wait to see what everyone else has to say on the topic. 

The ladies I work with are awesome. This is my co-worker Tracy. One week in July, my boss and our other co-worker both scheduled to be gone the same week, so that left Tracy and I to hold down the fort. We wore tiaras all week (the customers love it), and we decorated the building (I didn't get a photo). We bought root beers (in the photo) and sent pics to our boss (who remember is my son in laws aunt and a good friend). She got a kick out of it. We know how to have fun. 

With Joy Unquenchable,

Kirstin