I wonder....

I have often thought about what I would do if I were given the opportunity to start over.  Do you ever wonder that?

It's not that I am unhappy with my life, I just wonder what it would be like if I had been a photographer or something that required a bit more imagination and creativity. I see the creativity of people online and I am in awe of what they can do with "everyday" things.  For example, how they can take a pretty flower and make it look like a natural wonder, or capture images of children whose faces tell their story with just one glance. I have always wished I could be that photographer!

I love taking photos - I even surprise myself by taking good pictures once in a while. But for the most part, I would never win any contests or qualify to enter an art show by any stretch of the word. But what could I have done with the same pictures if I had taken photography classes and found employment with ~ say ~ Life magazine or some really great publication. Where would my assignments have taken me?

Along the same thought ~ what would life have been like if I had become a pediatrician?  Or a midwife? I've always been interested in delivering babies and watching the awesome first moments of a life without having all the pain.

Or perhaps I could have been a writer, traveling all over the world researching for my books.  That would have been fun!  I always wondered how writers, who were Mom's did that and still made it to PTA meetings, sporting events, and parent/teacher conferences. Who helped their kids with their homework?  They must have found a way to do both and my hats off to them!

I like traveling so perhaps I should have been a flight attendant or travel agent ~ I'd have access to travel opportunities at a greatly reduced cost.

As I reflect on what I should be doing now, entering the "last stage" of my career, I have been contemplating using my interests to pursue new career opportunities. I go from one extreme to another. Here are just a few ideas I have had in the last 18 months ~

1. Preschool teacher ~ But just because I love kids and enjoy my granddaughter ~ does that mean I would make a great full time preschool teacher or enjoy doing it every day? 
2. Health Coach ~ I would easily have earned my certification by now if I had started my classes as soon as I was laid off, but something held me back.  Could it have been because I was burned out by trying to convince people why it is important and how to make better choices?  I did that for several years for families with children showing signs of behavior disorders and mental illness.  I didn't choose that career, it fell into my lap so to speak.  Thinking really hard about that ~ I decided I would never have chosen that profession so why was I considering it now?  Because people told me I was good at what I did and I didn't think I could do anything else.
3. Executive Assistant ~ I am good at helping people but I am not very good at organizing them or myself, and staying that way.  I scratched this idea immediately.
4. Health food store clerk ~ which quickly morphed into owning my own health food store ~ Now this I would have enjoyed, but do people really go to health food stores any more when most items can now be bought at the local grocer stores or through a health care provider?  I didn't think it would be successful.
5. Life coach ~ See # 2 for why I crossed this one off my list
6. Professional Grandma ~ I had almost written my business plan.  I know there are children who do not have grandparents, or have grandparents who live far away, or sadder yet, do not have active grandparents in their lives for a variety of reasons.  I thought about doing a "traveling Gaga" business and go to where I was most needed.  Sort of a twist on Mary Poppins. Then my son had an idea of a drop in center for busy parents who's babysitters are sick, or they just want to do grocery shopping without little "beggars" or work part-time irregular hours and can't find consistent childcare (which was my son's experience).  I am still thinking seriously about that one.  I know there is a need in our area.
7. Grant Writer ~ I am developing marketing materials, getting them in front of people. 
8. Writer ~ so many people have wanted to see me write a book, whether it was a self help book or just a collection of stories.  So I started a blog, started writing stories, and sharing experiences. 

I like this idea the best.  I can blend all my interests into one place. As I become more skilled in other areas ~ like photography ~ I can share them here. Eventually I will share more "personal" reflections about what I learned as a Mom in a household plagued with disorders and addiction.  But for now, I am researching how to make money doing what I love to do best. Share stories.

If I am lucky enough to travel someday ~ I can blog about it. But for now, I can write about where I want to go and where I have already been. And that leads me to the purpose of this blog post.

Every week I am going to write about something wonderful. Whether it is a photo I have seen, a place I have been, a quote, a story, an idea, or a recently discovered blog I think others should know about.

I will call it "Wonderful Wednesdays".


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