From Day 1 at Delmar Gardens (back in August, 2011), I knew that this was not a Forever job. I grew to love it and to love the staff and the residents. But I have never pictured myself as wanting to build a career and work 50-60 hour weeks to make the big bucks. I've always wanted to just provide a supplemental income to Steven's, to allow us to build our savings and to do some fun things. Lord willing, it will be the same when we have kids.
But the biggest reason I couldn't work at Delmar Gardens forever was because of their Holiday policy. ALL staff members have to work one of the Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year's Day holidays, but even if you get Christmas Day off, you HAVE to work the day before and the day after. You are not allowed to use Vacation Days the last week of November through the first week of January. I understand how this can work out for people with family close by (and I understand WHY the rule is the way it is... the Residents are there 24/7, so the staff must be as well), but it did not allow for Steven and I to go home or to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving or Christmas. While this was not ideal, but tolerable, for now, you can bet that when we have kids we will be seeing our families for Christmas!
So I have been praying ever since I got my first job there, that God would bring me the next thing at the right time. Then they offered me the full-time job as the administrative assistant. It was the only open door at that time so I went through it, having faith that the next thing would come at the right time. The Holidays came, we stayed in O'Fallon for both of them, and I prayed even harder that by NEXT Holiday season I would have a job that allowed us to go to Oklahoma... but I also tried my best to have a positive attitude and be content wherever God had me.
In the meantime, our realtor and a member of our church, Lisa Adkins had mentioning to me that I should get my Real Estate License and become part of her Real Estate Team. I told her over 6 months ago that I wasn't really comfortable taking a commission-based position in an industry that I knew nothing about... I would rather have an hourly position such as an office assistant where I could get to know the behind-the-scenes process before I jumped in with both feet. She understood, and although she had two assistants, did not have any openings at that time.
As I mentioned, when the Holidays came, I really began re-evaluating my options. I talked to Lisa and Steven more about going into real estate. Lisa said that if I wanted to pursue working with her, she wanted me to be Licensed by the Spring so that I could train with her when the season was good. She referred me to a Licensing class which was held 10 minutes away from our house, but that started on February 11.
We prayed a lot about it, and Steven and I agreed that, although it was risky, the reward far out-weighed the risk. I could set my own schedule and make more in fewer hours! That weekend, I went home because of my 3-day weekend and discussed it with my parents and my friends, who all agreed it sounded like an amazing opportunity. One of my parent's Sunday School class members reminded me that they had been praying for me to get a new job, and that even when God opens a door, you are still the one who has to go through it. Though I didn't know anything about the industry, I would have the advantage of training with someone who has been a top-seller for 15 years. And starting off on a "Team" would automatically give me referrals and other advantages. However, Lisa felt hesitant about asking me to quit my job for a commission-based job, when I would likely not make any money for at least a few months until my first Sell.
Starting class on February 11, meant that my last day at work had to be February 8, which meant my 2 weeks needed to be put in by January 25 (that Friday). I knew I needed to talk to Lisa about how serious I was about working for her, so I text her on my way back to O'Fallon from KC, asking if we could talk that night because we hadn't talked about it in a few weeks. We talked on the phone really quick and she said that something had come up and she needed to work it out before we talked again, and she'd call me in a few more hours.
When she called me again she had a few things that blew me away:
1. Her daughter, Cassie, had found a Groupon for the EXACT Licensing class that I was wanting to take- for $140 instead of the regular price of $325.
2. THAT DAY, one of her office assistants came to her and said that she wanted to renew her license and become an agent again. So now she had an hourly position available, where I could risk-free learn the industry and see how everything actually works behind the scenes.
I told her I'd talk to Steven and we met on Wednesday for me to accept the position! I was and continue to be 100% at peace with the decision. I know that it is what is right for us and can see it being an opportunity which I can pursue for years- even after children- because you can set your own hours and work load.
The next day, I gave my two-weeks notice at Delmar Gardens. I am still going to continue working for them "PRN" or as needed, and of course on my last day (Friday) they gave me a shift to cover already.
God is SO good.... He's SO good to me!
