Friday, June 12, 2015

Climbing the ladder....Or Not So Much....

What a fun exciting time here at our house! Alex has an amazing job offer and is passing his CPA exams! Kate is finishing 1200 of interning hours and maybe just maybe she can see the light at the end of the tunnel. With the kids thinking about jobs and salaries and benefits and buying new cars and paying for grown up things, we've talked about money. Oh money, lots of talk about money. I love money, I hate money! Rick and I moved to Hoover 12 years ago. It was a promotion for him. He did his two years at Lilly corporate in Indy. He learned a lot. We never saw him. Thankfully the kids were little, we had great friends and we made it through that time. It was a huge stepping stone and got us to the next level. We sacrificed time away from our families for the next level. We were willing to do that. It's not always easy but it's one of things we chose to do plus we were eager to get to a more mild climate as winter does not agree with me! But, we've stayed here. There have been many times Rick could have had the oppportunity to move up. Rick's career has been in pharma the past 17 years and  moving up meant moving. Moving to the Atlanta and then New Jersey. No doubt botht those places are wonderful and have so much to offer, but, taking the kids out of Hoover where we had put baby roots down would have hurt. We're good at meeting people and the kids would have most likely been fine but there's something about just staying put and letting the years pile up in one place. Seeing all the kids go through Hoover. Hearing teachers say, "oh wait, Jack, I had your sister in my class." So, yes, we could be making bank but each time you move up you give another piece of yourself. We may look back in 20 years and say "we could have this or that had we moved up." But, in my heart, I believe we'll be happy we've found peace in "enough" That is the lesson we can share with Kate and Alex as they start their careers. Find a balance and learn that having enough is it. Don't get wrapped up in the $$$. I know it's easy to do especially in this world trust me I know. But listening to your heart and knowing you have enough for each day is peace. 

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

She's engaged!

How is it possible that Kate is already old enough to be engaged?! We are over the moon excited about the upcoming nuptials! Things have changed a lot in the 25 years since Rick and I were hitched! Today you don't have to do a church wedding but you can if you so choose. Destination weddings are a great choice and that doesn't mean beach only. There are so many cool places to have a wedding. There's a lot to plan and think about and buy in the next 18 months!