I have a small attachment to a game on my iPod. When most people have to wait (in lines, at the doctor's office, etc.), they check their email or their social media "friends". If I have it with me, I immediately start to play Plants vs Zombies. I have beaten the game multiple times at this point, but I still love playing it. While completing another level on the game recently, I began to feel a little philosophical. The secret to beating the Zombies, who are trying to invade your cranium of its contents, is timing. Life is a little like that too. You have to plant the seeds of the things you want to reap later, or you'll always be going through difficulties (like Zombies eating your brains--or life kicking your butt).
Looking back to the summer of 2008, I was unemployed, without a car, and living in a pretty tough neighborhood in St. Louis. I was raising my two youngest children full-time. Life was pretty rough there for a while. I was so depressed because my life was not going the direction I had always wanted for myself. I made other choices along the way, and now, I was reaping.
I received an email requesting me to call for an over-the-phone interview in September. By the middle of October, I was working full-time again and feeling pretty good! It was a long climb out of financial problems when you are unemployed for a few months. I was so lucky that I lived within my means during that time and my apartment complex/utility companies were willing to work with me. Life is full of small miracles.
I felt so grateful to have a job, but it was almost as hard as not having one sometimes. I was at my workplace for nine hours, plus a two-hour bus commute in the morning, and another two-hour bus commute in the evening. That means I spent about 13 hours a day away from my kids, which also means paying for evening daycare ($$$). All of my wages went to housing, utilities (we didn't have cable, credit cards, or any luxuries), and child care. The biggest treat for my two kiddos was when we would walk a mile down the street to buy a $1 sundae at McDonalds (when I was off work). I picked up my kids way past dinner time, and when I had to work until 9 p.m., it was closer to midnight since the buses run differently late at night. But, it was a seed. Like my favorite game, you have to plant something to ward off the bad stuff. For me, this seed was bearing through the hard stuff, buckling down, and doing what needed to be done.
In May of 2009, I moved to Saint Charles and bought a super cheap car ($750) with my tax refund. It was a whole new world to drive my own car after commuting by bus for over three years. I began to regain confidence in myself again. I was doing well at work, but I started to want more.
In the summer of that same year, I decided to look into going back to school. I have always wanted to be an elementary teacher (I started out in the early childhood arena). The LCIE accelerated program at Lindenwood was a perfect fit for me to begin that fall. I really feel like I blossomed during this experience. I met awesome people, some of which I still hold treasured friendships with, learned how to be a better writer, and honed some of my people skills. I moved to the day program at Lindenwood in August, 2010. I enjoy and learn from my classes. Over two years later, I am months from graduation. The seeds I planted are nearly ready to be harvested. I am about to embark on my dream, all because I timed things out. I thought these decisions through and worked hard nurturing them.
It is easy to sit through life and let it happen. You can watch others live and blame them for your failures, or you can start planting. It takes baby steps, a few at a time. Or....you can let the Zombies (otherwise known as the bad things in life) eat your brains.
