My husband Ryan and I met in college and have been together since 2000. We were pretty much kids when we started our little family. There was a time where Ryan and I rotated shifts so we could take care of our son while working full time jobs to put food on the table. We also took turns on completing our bachelors degrees. We barely saw each other. This carried on as our careers progressed except I was the one on the road away from home a majority of the time.
Fast forward to what seemed like a few short years, our son grew up and graduated high school and much like most kids he was ready to leave the nest. This was right in the middle of the pandemic. Everyone’s world was changing, I felt overwhelmed with my own turn of events and quite literally I felt like a fish out of water. My job that once had me traveling weekly was now turned virtual, our son was turning into an adult and I now had to live with the realization of my regretables. Not even sure if that is a word but once you get to know me you will soon realize you will need a Jamie dictionary.. On top of all of this, my very supportive husband was at a point where I needed to step up and show him the support he needed to pursue his passion very much like he did mine for the last twenty years.
It was unbelievably scary to just let go. I realized at that time when my husband came to me for the last and final time about moving back home and buying a farm if I said no he was doing it without me. That was a pivotal decision in my life… the ol’ fork in the road if you will. Do I choose love and family over my career goals of reaching the top?
It was actually an easy decision for me, I have no idea why.. Except it finally dawned on me that I spent a good portion of my life trying to prove my worth in my career while the people who valued me the most took a backseat to my time.
I had no idea the impacts of that single decision of saying yes to the move would make on my life. I also didn’t think about the fact that my job was now virtual and… our son was taking the infamous leap of adulthood and living on his own.. this left Ryan and I in a very different space of learning life again with just us. Our life from 2020 to now has changed.. we were once maybe the couple who spent weekends together now turned into 24/7.
I will admit it was nice to not have to travel, wait in airports, or stay in hotels wishing I were home. However, this newfound time together was a bit of an adjustment. What you may not know is that not only are we partners in crime with our farm ventures we also work for the same organization for our careers as virtual employees. We are together 24/7.. At first it was a bit of a challenge to not let the littlest things get to us but the farm gave us something to really focus on, it saved us on our worst days.
We found a common interest in this farm and it was a beautiful distraction. The farm made our relationship stronger. Now.. don’t get me wrong we fight but now it’s about where and what we are planting or having a knock down drug out fight about seed spacing.. true story. The difference is those spats don’t last long and end up with one of us saying something to make the other person laugh and then we find a common ground and figure it out.
Ryan is my best friend, my ride or die. He drives me insane sometimes but he knows me better than I know myself.
Moral of the story.. Stop trying to prove your worth in a world that will likely replace you the same day. Invest your time with the people who already know your worth. -✌🏼Jamie
Moral Of The Story 