Your Work vs. Your Passion

Two potential jobs have popped up in recent weeks. One for my husband, and one for me.

Neither of us has so much as interviewed so this is all horribly premature! But to set up the scenario, here's where we find ourselves.

We sold a house and moved in 2008 after carrying two mortgages for over a year as we renovated our new home. It was a financial debacle thanks to our really really bad timing. Actually the timing was perfect for our family, our son was able to start school in a fantastic neighborhood, at a great school. But in terms of the real estate market, our timing couldn't have been worse. We are in way over our heads because our old home sold for much less than we originally estimated and of course what renovation has ever come in on budget? For the past two years, we have been slaves to our mortgage.

Back to the jobs. The job for me would be full-time. Right now I work part-time and am there to pick up my kids from school every day at 3 p.m. It's hard for me to think about hiring a nanny or doing before-school and after-school care, or whatever it would take to allow me to work full-time. That is a bitter pill to swallow, for me. And I really love writing my own stuff. So I would be selling my time and creative energy to an institution in order to pay our mortgage -- What creative person hasn't faced that dilemma?

The job for my husband would take us to another state and a mid-sized city of about 250,000. Let's just say that a move like that would send our friends here into cardiac arrest. Since 1988, I have lived in Manhattan, Chicago and suburban Chicago. However, as the song goes, I was born in a small town. This would be a big job and a large leap forward in terms of income for us. We might actually be able to retire sometime in the next 40 years!!

It's been interesting doing this project and looking at both possibilities. We have decided to move forward on both, and let the chips fall where they may. I would love to hear what you think!