Switching Gears

My name is Randi, and I’m Cheronne’s quirky daughter. Earlier this week, my mom asked me to be her guest blogger  and I quickly agreed even though I didn’t have any idea of what to write about.  So here goes…

Switching gears later in life is fun and terrifying at the same time. One day, you’re living the average teenager’s dream of all day binge television and video games, not having a (traditional wage earning) job, and spending all day in your pajamas. Then you realize that you are going to have to clean up your mess. Okay, no big deal. Oh, you also have to clean the kids’ messes, the dogs’ messes, and your husband’s messes. Suddenly, your inner teenager is eager to get out of the house and do something other than clean and watch tv.

So, you sit down and think about what you want to do with your life. You’re 31, you have a bunch of pre-med and physical science college courses under your belt, and you feel like a stagnant failure. You’re one class from one degree, three from another degree, and you want nothing to do with either degrees. Great. Now you’re a monetary wastrel.  Congratulations!  You have decided that you suck at life  However, you’ve got a couple things going for you. You are smart, and you’re a great cook. Your kids don’t hate you, and you’re a pretty solid wife as well. These things don’t overpower the bad, but they at least level the playing field. Now it’s time to tip the balance.

Alright, back to what you want to do with your life. You love being creative, but there’s the phrase “starving artist” for a really good reason. That’s not something to do with your life, it’s something to enhance your life. Then, later on, you’re sitting in a recliner and braiding your daughters hair. At that moment, your epiphany dawns on you.  You want to go to beauty school.

3 weeks later, you sit down and realize that…woah…after years of indecision and inaction, you have officially shifted gears and started moving forward with your life. You’ve enrolled in a local beauty school, set up your funding, locked in your start date, and figured out how to shift around the home paradigm. Life is now crazy.

Okay, so all of this would be true, if you were me. I spent half of my adult life in menial, entry level jobs, and the other half as a stay at home mom. As amazing as my family is, I still felt adrift and unfulfilled. My husband has an amazing job, and is able to provide the kids and I with a fairly comfortable lifestyle. He’s also my best friend and biggest supporter.  My family life is wonderful, but I also needed to face facts. My husband’s job is not the safest. He does environmental cleanup and chemical remediation. If something were to ever happen to him, I would totally be unprepared and unable to support the kids and myself. Action was needed. I needed to do something with my life, but I also needed to enjoy what I did.

I’ve been in cosmetology school for about five months, now. It has been a very challenging experience that has taught me a lot about myself and my abilities. It has taught me that it’s okay to want more out of life, and that it’s okay to go after those wants. I’ve fallen behind on house cleaning, and the kids are helping pick up the slack, because they are amazing. You know what? I think they get that from their mother.