This time last year when I was heavily pregnant with Magdalene, I had big dreams and plans for what I wanted my life to be. It evolved around the needs of being a great wife and mum and creating lasting memories with my family. I wrote a list of 100 dreams and goals that I wanted to see come to fruition in my life.
I read over the list last night thinking that I wouldn’t be able to tick off any of the dreams and I surprised myself by being able to cross out 3, one of which I will be doing in March this year. The dreams I’ve crossed off aren’t super duper exciting (well one is) but they mean something to me and I’m amazed that despite not focusing on my list, I’ve been able to achieve 3 dreams without much effort.
Anyway, 2014 was my year to work hard on my blogs and get direction on where I should be spending more of my time (workwise) and then a curve ball decided to roll into my perfectly planned little life.
Before I reveal the curve ball, I should rewind back to last year.
Work was haphazard when I got off maternity leave in July 2013. Dad and I would have full on weeks with some really big days, to weeks where we wouldn’t have work. We didn’t mind the quiet weeks because dad was semi-retired and I could revert to stay-at-home mum mode with my kids. But the weeks that were really hard at work, were extremely draining for dad, and I felt out of my depth too with the big days. I just didn’t want to admit it because the work brought in money to make ends meet and provide some play money for my family.
Dad was keen on putting an ad on our local radio station to get more consistent work in the quiet weeks but it was a failed marketing attempt because we got no calls. Not one.
My dad was honest with me and said that he wanted to fully retire out of plumbing in June 2014 and I would have to decide on what I wanted to do. This freaked me out but meant that I had to do some hard thinking about what I wanted and how I would manage working without my dad. This post was where I was at when my dad told me his plans.
In my head I thought I could manage the business by taking the calls, organizing a sub-contractor to do the work and I would follow through with the paperwork. I still had commercial clients that I had to look after and I enjoyed the administration part of work than being on the tools.
But would I even be able to make an income from doing this? I wasn’t sure but put it to the back of my mind.
In November I started to feel really tired. I wasn’t feeling myself and just assumed that it was because the end of the year was looming and it was part of being a mum and having a mind consumed with decisions to make.
I knew things weren’t right when I missed my period and thought I’d better take a pregnancy test.
The test was positive.
I may have said a bad word in my head. As I sat on the toilet with me head in my hands I kept thinking how did this happen?
Jacob walked into our ensuite while I was still sitting on the toilet and asked me what was wrong. I looked up at him and nodded to the positive pregnancy test on the vanity.
‘Oh’ was the reply. Then an ‘Oh’ with a smile and the same question ‘how did that happen?’
I honestly couldn’t believe our luck. And I kept asking how, how, HOW, because we were taking precautions. But instead of asking how and why, I stopped questioning and started to thank God for this unexpected gift from Him.
Naturally I told my dad first and he was surprised and happy and positive that all would work out with the new addition on the way. I had my doubts. I’m a default worrier.
Around two weeks later, my dad told me that he was going to close our plumbing business for good because he didn’t want to work or need to work and I was going to have another child and was worried about public liability because our business was run under his license and he didn’t want to have to keep working without me while I went on maternity leave again.
That was curve ball two and it knocked me. A lot. Because I was pregnant and suddenly unemployed and was unemployable due to being pregnant.
There were mornings where I sat on my bed and cried and cried. This wasn’t part of the plan and what was the new plan now?
It was hard for me to get into the Christmas Spirit because my thought life was consumed with thoughts about what I should do and I felt like a failure because I was going to let clients down by not being able to work for them.
When I was 6 weeks pregnant, the morning sickness started and I visited the toilet more times than I put one in last year. The constant nausea and throwing up sucked. I was forced to take anti-nausea tablets so that I could keep food down and be able to look after my girls. But I only took them when I needed them. Thankfully it’s starting to subside now.
I had my first scan last Monday and it confirmed that all is well with baby number three and I am 14 weeks pregnant. Bub is due on the 20th July but because of my history, will most likely have a c-section around my 30th Birthday. Happy Birthday to me. 🙂
I’m positive about the new direction in my life, even though I don’t know what my plumbing career will look like in the future. There may be some opportunities in the pipeline but I don’t know what would be expected of me and whether I can commit to what they are after. I just have to wait and see.
Isn’t it funny how we can have all the grandest schemes and plans in the world and then life throws a curve ball or two and we’re stuck thinking what do we do now?
Thankfully my faith in God has been my constant and I have had peace in my heart about what this new era of life will bring.
Jacob and I are now in the planning mode of upgrading our car (who knew how hard it would be to find a car that fits 3 car seats across without resorting to a Mini Van??), moving my office into our unused lounge room to create another bedroom and preparing our girlswith the new arrival of a baby brother or sister.
So where does that leave my plumbing blog? Well I’m not going anywhere and I’m not going to be boxed in by my blog title. I’ll still write about plumbing and what I hear from other plumbers as well as sharing about my family and personal life. I’ve had an unusual shift in readership on my blog last year because I now have more male readers than females (45% female, 55% male). I treasure you all and love your comments and interaction on social media. You all make my heart sing.
But now that my life has gotten a bit more interesting, I hope you stay with me on the journey as I juggle being a mum and working out what I do for work. I know life is going to be busy with three kids and I can’t predict how I will cope, but I do know that curve balls are thrown for a reason and I’m keen to allow them to propel me and my family to a positive future.
When life throws a curve ball or two, how do you react? What curve balls have you had to face in your life? Do share. x
I’m linking up with Essentially Jess for I blog on Tuesdays.
