Additional Coverage:
- I got laid off before the holidays. My family of 7 depends on my income, but I’m trying not to panic. (businessinsider.com)
Local Mom of Five Faces Unexpected Career Crossroads, Embraces New Beginnings
A nearly 40-year-old mother of five, grappling with the sudden loss of freelance work, is using this challenging time to explore new career paths and rediscover passions beyond the paycheck.
Just before the Thanksgiving holiday, a local mother of five received shocking news: her last freelance contract was terminated, leaving her without a stable income during a financially intensive period for her family. While the unpredictable nature of freelance work is not new to her, the finality of this loss, following a year of declining work, hit hard.
“I will admit that I’m panicked and feeling all the emotions from embarrassment to fear to depression over being an almost 40-year-old woman with no real prospects or plans for the future,” she shared, “but I’m also trying to reframe being let go positively.”
Family Reliance on Income
With three teenagers and an oldest child preparing for college next fall, the family has always relied on her income to supplement her husband’s salary as a public school teacher in a rural district. The rising costs of groceries, home upkeep, and travel sports for their children have made this a particularly demanding financial time.
“Our oldest is going to college next fall, our second oldest is about to turn 16, and wants to drive,” she explained. “Several of our children are involved in travel sports, and between the groceries and home upkeep bills alone, it truly feels like one of the most financially intensive times in our lives.”
Despite the logical need to secure a stable, full-time job immediately, a small part of her is urging her to explore what she truly desires in this next chapter of her life.
A Coincidental Shift in Motherhood
This career upheaval has coincided with a significant shift in her role as a mother. Her youngest child recently started kindergarten, marking the end of 17 consecutive years of full-time caregiving at home. While she acknowledges that parenting older children brings its own set of time and emotional demands, the intensive “baby and toddler stage” has passed, prompting a re-evaluation of her identity.
“Who am I when the kids are gone? How will I fill my days?
Will I ever be able to retire and live comfortably if I’ve never worked a ‘real’ job?” she mused, confronting the reality of an emptying nest.
As a freelancer, she always “cobbled together whatever writing jobs I could,” never truly feeling “settled” in a career path.
Exploring Passions Amidst Practicalities
While actively seeking “real work,” including applying for remote nursing positions using her existing license, she is also dedicating time to explore long-held passion projects. She recently trained as a substitute at her local library and signed up to be a recess monitor at her daughter’s school.
Her first shift at the library proved to be a delightful experience. “I loved having a reason to get dressed and do my hair, the peace and quiet of a library on a winter afternoon, and the simple satisfaction of helping people find their next great read,” she recounted, adding that her husband even remarked on her “jovial” mood upon her return home.
She is also delving into other entrepreneurial ideas, such as self-publishing fiction books, becoming a certified personal trainer, and expanding the small farm she co-owns with her husband.
“I’m feeling that sort of restlessness that only a mother in the throes of perimenopause who has dedicated nearly two decades of her life to others can feel,” she concluded, embracing this period as a time to discover what the next part of her life holds.