To everything there is a season
People increasingly ask me if I miss my job and if I am likely to go back to it – it’s a good question and luckily one which I have pre-empted!! Of course there are bits of my job which I miss…who wouldn’t miss roaring down a runway in a 72 ton jet with almost 200 people on board, or coming in to land in places like Corfu, Palermo, Split…my job was awesome!! Of course there are elements of it which I miss, but the bottom line is still that it doing it any more was the right decision
Yes, sometimes I wonder about how we will pay the (still bigger than I would like it to be) mortgage in a few years time when His Jimness retires, but actually, all the other things that went alongside the rockstar wages and jet-set lifestyle are things I don’t miss at all
The point is that sometimes there is more value in looking at the things you really need rather than the things you think you need. Although I no longer have an income (I’m working on it!), I also no longer have the expense of living that commuter lifestyle. Pret A Manger’s loss is literally my gain! Instead, I have a lifestyle that is managed at my own pace, and for the first time in years, I get to show up, I get to be present, I am there for family gatherings (even the ones on the “other side”), birthdays, weddings, funerals. You name it, I am now there, and if I ever catch myself wondering if I would go back to the lifestyle I once had, I catch myself and remind myself that although COVID forced the decision, in the end it was still MY decision.
I went paddleboarding with my grown up son today. We had an awesome time on the water and then His Jimness turned up with the dogs and he went out on one of the boards while I swam with the dogs. I managed to get Poppy (our chocolate lab) onto the front of my board and being the Queen she is, she stood up to catch a small wave in to the shore – these are moments I could never guarantee before and these are the moments I now live for.
Given the choice of rolling 200 people down a 3 mile piece of tarmac at 140 mph versus putting a chocolate Labrador onto a paddleboard and watching her surf in to the beach I’ll take the lifestyle option every time!!!
Life now is different but so good and with new things on the horizon I just want to encourage everyone who has had that life pivot over the last 18 months that it’s ok on the other side! If ever you have doubts, find a willing dog and stick it on a SUP. You won’t be disappointed!
