Moving On…

This is the first blog post I had to get permission to write… from my son!

Anyone who has been following me for a bit on this blog will know that I made a huge decision in December to resign as Operations Manager of Wausau Whitewater. This means many changes including sending off all of the accumulated “stuff” from 12 years.

Another big change in my life is happening at the same time. My youngest son, Dan (22 going on 23) has a Residential Building degree from Northcentral Technical College and  he built 3 houses from the ground floor up through NTC and Wausau Freshstart. My sons, Dan and Tim, have been surrounded by construction since Dad is a remodeling contractor. Dan worked the past two years for Reede’s Custom Curb, installing specialized curbing.

In the meantime, my father-in-law thought it was time to put all these pieces together and when my husband came upon someone selling a fix-it up home, Grampa proposed that he help Dan finance. The location is perfect. It sits on two lots, one of which can be sold off later to recoup much of the cost. It needs a lot of remodeling but Dan is trained on how to build and his brother, Tim, worked in the construction field as an insulator for several years.

Right now, they are removing drywall and carpeting while insulating box sills and filling voids. Their friends are pulled into the project. Dan’s friend, Lee, lives in Eau Claire but comes home frequently. His building background parallels Dan’s and also has talents in residential and commercial design. Lee will probably follow in his father’s footsteps some day and become an architect. Lee is completing a degree in Commercial Design. The tag team and network of resources Dan has grows every day.

The challenges of this project loom in having so much family involvement. Grampa is acting as the banker, managing the funding, Dad is working with subcontractors and helping to line them up. I was initially against this whole project because it seemed too soon. Dan is a homeowner at 22 and his older brother, Tim, will be living with him and working with him. I finally just decided to stay out of the way. I was sold on the learning experience. I remind everyone periodically, that for this to be a learning experience, the young men have to be involved in all levels and it has to be their project.

As soon as some of the initial construction is done, my sons move into the property and continue remodeling.  When they move out, even more things will move with them. I anticipate many changes with their absence, both in more room and also in the empty nest as children grow up.

All of this means moving on. I mentally adjusted to this latest change. Though Tim has moved out multiple times, Dan has lived at home throughout his education and early work career. Dan is a great cook. He also can be relied on to grocery shop (and buy all the right things) and run tons of other errands.

I look at all of these changes with anticipation and excitement. It did take some time to get there. Every time we face changes in our lives, we have to adjust mentally and emotionally. For some this comes easily, for others not so much. When changes happen, such as job loss, each person has the choice to look at it positively or negatively. If we choose the negative route, we will stand in the way of change. Adjusting the mental attitude makes it possible for us to see options.

For a job seeker, perhaps they are able to do things that they always wanted to but couldn’t because the career path wasn’t taking them in that direction. When I coach my clients, I tell them that the job loss, as hard as it is to accept initially, can be a blessing in disguise. It can be an opportunity to try new things, to open new doors. It is all in how you perceive it.

Do you have changes in your life? How are you dealing with them? Let me know and feel free to give me any other feedback. As always, talk to me, I talk back!