Dream Job

So, I know I have been dragging this thing on for going on, what? 3 months now.... Who does that? Takes a 30 day challenge and stretches it out for 90? Well, I guess I do, huh? Oh well. I'm going to keep on keeping on until this little challenge is done. I feel like I've started it, and I can't stop now. Sure, I've got a small pile of grading waiting for me on the coffee table. And I'm about 3 days behind on my devotional. But I just needed to take some time away from my daily "stuff" and write a little bit. I'm sure you feel that way sometimes too.

Onto today's question:  #7. What is your dream job, and why?

Well, growing up, I always thought I'd be a teacher. And I've managed to accomplish that. And I'm happy to say that I'm pretty happy with where I'm at in my career. But I've been asking myself lately if I'll enjoy teaching for the rest of my life. Don't get me wrong, I'm loving what I'm doing right now. But sometimes I wonder if I can last 30 years, at which point I'm allowed to retire. Sure, it might be nice to retire at the age of 52. I just don't know if I'll be happy doing what I'm doing for that many years. Plus, I don't know if we'll be financially capable of me retiring that early.

So, this question got me thinking. If I wasn't a teacher anymore, what would I want to be? I tried to follow this diagram when narrowing down my decisions...

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• Photographer - I love taking pictures of events and people that I love. I'm sure with some practice and a lot nicer camera I could be pretty good. But good enough to make a living off of it? And do I really want to spend that much time in front of a computer screen editing? Not to mention, I'm the type of person who likes to stick with her plans, so rain ruining a photo shoot would annoy me to no end.
• Principal - It's the next step after being a teacher, right? I'm just not sure if the even later hours and dealing with legal mumbo jumbo is up my alley.
• School District - I enjoyed going to different workshops this summer and learning about all the new, inventive teaching techniques that are coming down the pipe. I think I could do that full time. But do I really want to be one of those people? (Fellow teachers, I'm sure you're catching my drift on that one...)
• Financial Adviser - Ever since I found out who Dave Ramsey was and his money philosophy, I've been hooked! I want to share that knowledge and system with everyone I know. Sometimes to the point where they're tired of hearing it. But, I don't have a finance or business degree, and I don't really want to go back to school for that, so that one is probably out of the picture.
• Medical Office Manager - This was actually my "plan B" if I couldn't find a teaching job. I don't want to be the CEO or anything, just someone who helps run the place. Maybe even do Human Resources. In my previous job, I was always the one training the new people and I actually enjoyed it. I think if teaching ever fell through, I'd probably still entertain this idea.

All of those are great. Some more realistic than others. But I still don't think I'd be passionate about any of those jobs. Then it hit me....

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Being a mom. A stay at home mom. I could do that. I would love to be able to stay home and raise my kids rather than having a daycare worker or nanny with them the large majority of the day. Please don't take that the wrong way. I was raised by a single mom and went through day care all throughout childhood. And I think I turned out pretty okay. This is something that everyone has an opinion on, and I'm simply sharing mine.

I struggle sometimes with juggling work, being a home maker, and a wife. I think if I lost the work aspect of that puzzle, and replace it with a kid (or the plural form of the word) that I could manage. I'm good at multi-tasking throughout the day. It's when I'm locked into completing certain tasks within certain time frames that I get stuck and struggle. I've babysat my niece and nephew day-in-and-day-out over a summer, and I always managed to get my to-do list finished. This summer, when I was home all day, the house had never been cleaner. But when I was working, all of the housework sat unattended. Don't think I'm naive in thinking that a kid will be easy to juggle. I just think it's more doable for me.

I love to teach. So why not teach my own children? I don't think I'd do homeschooling. Mainly because I think I'd want my children to experience the social aspect of school. But I could teach them throughout their toddler years - to read, write, etc. I always loved working with my niece and nephew on puzzles and reading books. It's something I'd be good at and something I'd love doing. But I wouldn't be getting paid to do it. But you know what, I'm okay with that. As long as we can get by financially, then that's okay with me. But there in lies the problem...

I just don't know if we'll ever be at the point financially where this will even be a serious consideration. Right now if I were to get pregnant, we couldn't afford for me to stay home. Maybe in a couple of years once we've paid off all of our debt? But right now, it's not plausible. But I guess that's why I'm calling it a "dream" job. 

Now it's your turn. What do you want to be when you grow up? Or, if you could switch careers, what do you think you would do?