You Know You Are in the Right Place When...

You know you are in the right place at the right time in your life ... if you are just as happy working as not working.

Maybe I'm still on a post-holiday high. Maybe it's because I have the ability to compare and contrast prior summer/fall combos to this one. But then again? Maybe it is because  I am exactly where I am meant to be right now.

Four summers ago was filled with hopes and dreams. I was winding down my daycare so that I could pursue an education and change my career path. The year of education was one of my best. I fulfilled all of my schooling obligations, I took care of a few kids before and after school. I did some bookkeeping out of my home. And I followed wherever my dreams took me ...

It was a year that I took advantage of my new found freedom from parenthood. My youngest had reached the age where he was starting to becoming less dependent on me and my Second Son stepped up to the plate and watched over him many times while I vacationed a little bit here, there and everywhere.

Three summers ago was probably one of my best summers. I had finished off my schooling a month ahead of schedule and the future looked bright. I was doing bookwork out of my home and could fit the work into my life whenever and however suited me best. I thought it was the beginning of the life I was after. It took a while for me to fall off of my cloud and I enjoyed the view while I was there. But in the end ... it didn't work out as well as I had hoped.

This translated into the summer that followed. The summer of polishing up my resume and believing that I was capable of many new things. I tried several new things. Believing and succeeding don't always correlate. It was the beginning of a tough year.

Last summer at this time, I was just beginning my latest Life Renovation. I had researched my options and one year ago today ... I handed in my letter of resignation to my part-time summer job (that had become my tipping point). I started advertising the reopening of my daycare and two days later, I typed up and handed in a second letter of resignation to my (what I had hoped would be) my 'full-time' employment. I was off and raring to go.

This year has been ... calm. Oh. So. Calm. There has not been anything that has felt too big to overcome. It is a tiny bit scary to be in the precarious position of starting my daycare from scratch again. But lessons learned in the past are serving me very well. Looking backwards, I could not have hoped for a better year.

I have been back from my holidays one week. The phone is starting to ring once again with people looking for new daycare provisions. I have one spot that I would like to fill ... but if it doesn't happen, I am okay with that. Really okay.

What I love about these phone calls, is that each and every time I talk to a prospective new parent I hear myself talk about what I do, how I do it, why I do it ... and I like what I hear. I am not perfect. But I am doing what I am doing for all of the right reasons.

I missed my daycare family while I was gone. I was genuinely happy to see everyone walk through the door upon my return. I was calm. I was patient. Life felt completely right. And I was not on vacation. I was simply living my life.

You know you have a good life when each and every time you walk into your home, you are happy to be back. It doesn't matter how long I am gone. An hour. A day. A weekend. Or longer. Each and every time I drive up the driveway ... I am always glad to be home.

You know you are in the right job when coming back from a vacation doesn't feel like work. I am perhaps one of the lucky ones who simply has to wake up in the morning, open the blinds and unlock the door and my work comes to me. But this week? Work was life. I woke up. I lived my life. And I took care of a few children while I savored the bliss of simply being home, eating regular meals, resuming a schedule and taking in the great outdoors.

You know you are exactly where you are meant to be when all of the stars feel like they are aligned and living your life doesn't feel like a chore.

You know that you have travelled a good path when the lessons present challenges to overcome. Because if it wasn't for those challenges, you wouldn't appreciate where you are at. It is the contrasts in life that make the mundane full of wonder.

I would not appreciate where I am at, if I hadn't chose the various detours that it took to get here.

The sad part? To maintain this great amount of appreciation and peace, I will probably need more challenges tossed my way.

I know that this too shall pass away. But while I'm living the good life of feeling the awe of this simple wonder, I am going to appreciate every breathe I take while I am at this resting spot.