Finding Joy and Accomplishment in the Little Things

Thank you so much for the beautiful card I received yesterday

from my friend Laura to congratulate me on my blog launch!

I come from the world of Public Relations, Advertising, Marketing and sales. In that industry, recognition is huge in building people up and encouraging employees to reach their full potential. In my most current position I was rewarded numerous times financially through bonuses. I was also rewarded by earning promotions, which again equated to more money and a better title. I was publicly acknowledged weekly for the work that I was doing on a state and regional level. This kind of recognition kept me going. I fed off of making more money and having top sales. I was constantly working to be promoted in order to have more responsibilities, which I believed would lead to more recognition and to be honest more money.

I left that world 9 months ago to become a stay at home mom. I’m not about to speak for all stay at home mom’s here, but in my experience, this job title offers substantially less public recognition for excellence.

I have an amazing husband, who makes sure to let me know how much he and the kids love and appreciate all that I do. But, I am finding that it is also important for me to dig deep into myself and take pride in my new “career”.

We are the popsicle holders, the bottom wipers and the milk filler-uppers. My sleep schedule is totally dependent on two other little humans. And in affect, my coffee consumption is dependent on my sleep, or lack thereof. My experience as a mother has been far from glamorous. Luckily, I’m cool with my life not being glamorous.

Though the recognition is less, the rewards are far greater than promotions or money. I find my rewards in the little things like Brecken learning a new letter or noticing Annabelle’s soft curls blowing in the wind. I find my joy in growing gardens and blooming flowers and watching the farmers planting in the fields. Time is also a huge reward. Getting to spend so much more time with not only my kids but my husband as well. Jeremy has a schedule where he works 3 days and is off 2, then works 2 and is off 3. So we are blessed to spend more days together than many people have.

Creating this blog has already brought so much joy to my life in the form of pride in myself. Over the last 9 months I believe that my self worth diminished slightly due to not having specific career goals and being able to reach or exceed them. This blog was a goal that I had for over 5 years and just launching it was a huge accomplishment in my eyes.

I want to give a shout out to a couple of people who have provided me huge encouragement while starting this blog- Jeremy, my mom and one of my best friends Laura. Without their support I truly don’t think I ever would have done this. The support I have received from all of my family and friends has been heartwarming. Your words, cards, shared posts and personalized coffee mugs (thanks Jeremy ;) ) have made me feel extremely proud.

What rewards and/or recognition do you receive that keeps you going in your professional and personal life? What have you done recently to make you proud of yourself? Feel free to share in the comments or paste links to blog posts in order for me to get ideas and encouragement in my walk as a stay at home mom.