When I was younger, my biggest dream was to get married and have babies and be a great mom.
Then in high school, your teachers and guidance counselors and friends start asking you what you're going to do "after graduation". There was no question of going to college; of course I was going to college, but to major in what? After careful consideration, volunteering as a candy striper, and talking to other nurses, I decided to become a nurse. First my goal was to work at Children's Hospital, then in Labor and Delivery, then finally in the Intensive Care Unit. I graduated nursing school in August of 1994, nearly fourteen years ago. I work in the Surgical
Intensive Care Unit at Christ Hospital; I'm married; I have three babies; I'm happy...now what?
I am a planner, a goal-setter...I'm at my happiest when I have a list in hand, checking things off and adding more things to do onto my list. I still have plenty of lists, but the "big" things on my life list are already checked off, and I'm okay with that. Is it so bad to just be content with my life? Do I need to have more goals? Lots of my co-workers are working towards going to anesthesia school, or getting their bachelor's degrees, or becoming nurse practitioners...I just don't have that desire anymore. I love being able to work two or three nights a week, then be a stay-at-home mom the rest of the week. I love my job, my life, my kids, my family. I feel "arrived", finally at the age of thirty-four. I want to enjoy this feeling.
So I guess it's good to still have little goals (pay off bills, save money, etc), but I am going to be intentional about enjoying those goals I have already achieved. Starting today.
The inspiration for this post came from this song by Priscilla Ahn. I found the video on another blog (thanks, Daily Relish).
1 comment:
It's so ironic you posted about having dreams and goals...that's one of the biggest reasons I trained for and completed the triathlon.
For so long...all I could remember wanting to be is a mom. Getting my nursing degree afforded me the opportunity to be independent and work on my own, but it was never as satisfying as being a mom.
Somehow, however, I lost sight of who I was and what I wanted to achieve for myself. Of course I wanted to raise happy, healthy, self-sufficient, God-fearing children. But, what kind of example did I want to set for my kids? What did I want them to see in me when they grew up and remembered their childhood?
A friend of mine recently posted on her blog that you can't give what you don't have. I think that fulfilling our own dreams and goals is just as important to our kids as it is to us.
As you can probably guess, I love your post.
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