Work

When I think about work, thankfully the first thing that comes to mind is how fortunate I am.  Part-time I work at home, raising my kids and running the family household.  And, when I’m not a home, I get to go to work and be an entrepreneur running a real estate company with my husband. 

 

This April marked nine years of owning our own real estate company.  For years, people have been wondering how it is that Matt and I work so well together.  We’ve always made a great team.  We think of buying the real estate company at such a young age as our first baby together.  We were young, naive, newly married and with much to discover about one another. 

There was a lot to learn and we committed to learning it all together.  Leadership can be a very lonely place; we needed each other more than ever.  Matt and I have learned that the secret to a successful business partnership has also been the key to our happy almost 12 years of marriage.  We have always remained a united front, maintaining respect for each other, regardless of our differences. 

From day one, defining our roles—both personally and professionally—has been the most helpful.  Once we understood the what and why, while we were both operating in such close proximity to one another, we knew when to yield and when to confront our differences. 

I am most grateful for our business partnership; it has taught me so much about the strengths and differences in our perceptions of how we see the outside world.  I’ve had the opportunity to get to know my husband in ways I wouldn’t otherwise.  The peek into this part of his world has given me more understanding and awareness of how to support him as a husband and my best friend.

When I’m not at the office, I’m at home working.  The work I do at home, raising my babies, can be the most rewarding and the most challenging—depending on the day.  While I am most grateful for the opportunity to be home, I also know that being home full time is not for me.  I crave the social interaction and sense of accomplishment I can achieve working outside of the home.

The days I’m at home look pretty much the same.  We get up and have breakfast together, followed by some play time either in the playroom or outside, depending on the weather.  Carson still naps around 10 and this is when Ava and I can do something, just the two of us.  Usually we are coloring, working on an art project, playing babies or playing a game. 

At noon we all have lunch, followed by more playtime and around 2 pm, we take a much needed quiet time until it’s time to prepare dinner.  Throughout the day, I fold in the activities of running a household—laundry, dishes, and other household chores. 

As a child, I imagined my work as an adult to be in education, I always wanted to be a teacher.  I guess my real life resembles this a little in the ways I teach and coach when I’m at home and when I’m at the office.   I’m enjoying myself most when I am teaching and inspiring others.