August 31st of last year, I remember coming home to my family with tears streaming down my face and feeling like an utter disappointment to them because I had lost my job. A safe and secure job that I imagined I would retire from one day. My daughter, seven at the time, came up and hugged me so tight, asking me what was wrong. When I told her what had happened, she looked at me and said, “Mommy, you don’t have to worry about that job, you’ve got photography and you can always go work with Aunt Courtney too! Plus, Daddy has a job so you don’t have to be sad, everything will be ok and you don’t have to cry!”
I remember looking at her in disbelief, my little seven year old, so wise beyond her years. She was right, though. It had been months since I had been happy at my corporate job and I think my kids felt that when I would come home each day. I wasn’t happy, there was no joy or sense of fulfillment in the work that I was doing each day. So, I got to thinking and I started taking real estate classes in July after talking to my sister who was just named Rookie of the Year in her brokerage. My initial thought was that maybe in 2021 I would be able to start a little side hustle that could possibly turn into something more. I think God planted that seed because he knew I needed more. He knew I could handle more. So a few hours after thinking my world was crumbling, I sat down with my family and we made a plan. We were ALL in. All of us.
I spent the last five months of 2020 studying late into the night, getting up at 4 am before the kids woke up to study and cram, managing school schedules during the day and then repeating it all over again until I finally passed my exam in January.
I officially became licensed in March and just as recently as late June, I closed my first ever accepted contract deal for some of my best friends. I spent months helping their family find a home all the while shuttling around my kiddos to open houses and bringing them into the office when my husband worked out of town. My kids have become a part of my real estate life and I honestly think they love traveling around with me just as much as I love having them with me more.
Of course, there are challenges. I work a lot, probably more than I did in the corporate world. I’m also on the computer and my phone more, sometimes even at dinner. But the reward is being able to be with them during the day, being able to give them the life that I didn’t have growing up and they also get to watch their mom be successful, happy and love what she does.
As for my wise little now eight year old, she was absolutely right. Everything was absolutely right. Everything was going to be ok and now things are better than they’ve ever been.
