Making the Transition- Part 3

As I transitioned out of my old design job and into my new clerking job with the library it was necessary to make some changes in my families spending habits. This is some of the things we did right away.

• cut out my commuter coffee


• packed lunch for myself and my daughters


• limited our family restaurant trips to once a week


• eliminated all dry cleaning (even my husband is ironing now)


• eliminated magazine subscriptions or renewals


• eliminated book purchases (love books like others love chocolate)


• gradually switched our lighting from standard to CFL bulbs


• switched from paper towels/napkins to cloth

Things we already practiced even before my job transition:

• we had a small patio garden with veggies and flowers


• we had installed a clothesline to cut down on dryer usage


• thrift shopped regularly

Fortunately, growing up on a farm, I was already a little inclined to thrift anyway. Designers are obviously creative and I have always enjoyed fixing things up, finding new uses for old things, etc. I already shopped yard sales, thrift stores, and clearance sales regularly. With my new low, low income I just made sure I pretty much only shopped thrift.

This transition took place over an almost 6 month period and my family didn't go in shock and neither did I. As time passed we have refined and trimmed here and there. In future post I plan on sharing with you some tips and photos of how we make it all work.

Making the Transition- Part 2

So as previously mentioned, I began the hunt for a part-time job while working my full-time job. It began simply by thinking about what I enjoyed doing when I had free time. That led me to look for positions in two distinctly different fields, health clubs and libraries. In my twenties and thirties I was a certified aerobic instructor and loved it. I was in no shape to teach but I figured with my previous connections I might just score a position at the front desk or customer service. Additionally I was born and raised a book geek. My parents both read to me growing up and we always attended summer reading programs at our local library. I kept a stack of books by my bed just for vacation......It had gotten to the point that I didn't have time to read otherwise.

As luck would have it, after filling out a few applications, I landed a part-time position with a local library working 12-18 hours per week within a few weeks of looking. Even though I had no experience my customer service skills and passion for books were easily recognized. To make sure the job was a fit I worked both jobs for several months. Transitioning out of my full-time job slowly and reducing my design client base while increasing my hours at the library. I was lucky because the library job was only 9 blocks from home and I started out working evenings to train.

My employer of 18 years hated to see me go but understood the my reasons. I finished my design jobs and worked with another designer to take over the ones that I couldn't over several months. Still reducing my hours but working with the library simultaneously. So I guess you could say it got a little more busy and complicated before it got a lot better.

Soon, I would have more time to spend with my family. I would also have more time to spend with my mom. She obviously was dealing with her own transition from wife to widow. From business partner to sole proprietor of a large farm. The the man who had just left us all so quickly, so unexpectedly had proposed to my mom when she was only four and he only six. That another, very special story for another day.........

For my next post I will talk to you about other transitions my family made during the time period.

Making the Transition- Part 1

As promised I will share my story about the transition from full-time career to a part-time job I love.




Clarity struck for both my husband and I once my dad had passed. Time with family became much more precious. Prior to his passing my father and I had many long talks about my cutting back on work. He and my mother both worried I was burning the candle at both ends. They knew my desire to cut back and encouraged me to do so.


One of the main reasons for his encouragement was that my second daughter, Faith, was born with two heart defects and had chronic ear infections. She rarely slept through the night. Sometimes waking 3-5 times a night, and yes she was a breastfed baby. I usually was away from the house working until 6:00 p.m.or 7:00 p.m. in the evening. Once home, it was cook supper, get baths, finish up homework, the usual family routine with my husband and kids. After kids went to bed I was on the computer until 12:00 a.m., sometimes 1:00 a.m. in the morning designing, prepping bids then up again at 6:00 am to start over. You do the math. Not a lot of sleep. In addition, my husband was diagnosed with a sleep disorder during this period. So it was up to me.....I would often sleep upright on pillows in the den with her to help with the ear pressure and so my other daughter could sleep without disturbance.



So with my fathers past words of encouragement echoing in my mind I started looking for a local, part-time position in a field that would be interesting, fulfilling and at least cover the cost of groceries.

To be continued.........

Hello!

Hello blog world :-) This is something I have considered doing for a long time. Today I have decided to just do it! Delve into blogging that is....


My name is Anne. I am wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, part-time city employee and now a new blogger. My reason for blogging is simple. Three years ago I took a huge leap and changed careers after 20 years in the design industry. Yep! I went from a crazy 50-60 hour a week job, with a 25 mile commute one way to a 20 hour a week job with a 9 block commute! It allows me to take my kids to and from school and extracurricular activities, spend unhurried evenings at home with my family, prepare 90 percent of our food, garden, read. I have real quality time with the people I love the most.


In all honesty my husband and I had danced around the decision of part-time versus full-time work since the moment we found out I was pregnant with our daughter. It wasn't until the day my father died quickly and unexpectedly from cardiac arrest that either one of us had the guts to just do it! From that moment on our lives were changed swiftly and irrevocably. The wheels were set in motion and I found myself looking for a part-time job and giving notice at my design job within a few weeks of my father's passing.


In future post I plan to tell you more about how I went about making the transition and hope that it may help someone else make the leap to a simpler lifestyle.