Follow Your Bliss

For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to be an illustrator. I've always wanted to write kid's books and illustrate them. I love children. I love the way they can inspire me with their honest and pure outlook on all things. That's not just a green plastic chair, it is a rocket ship! The couch is not just a worn leather piece of furniture but a roller coaster that can also take us out to sea by the flip of an imaginary switch. I know these things because my kids have shown me. They constantly remind me that possibilities are only limited by our imaginations.

What I do now is nowhere close to what I want to do. What I need to do. I need to paint. I need to draw. I need to write and most important of all, I need to do all of these things at home. Near my children. So after a particularly rotten day at work yesterday, Ken and I talked and decided that now is the time for me to pursue my passions. So today, I told my boss (who yesterday told me that due to our increasingly heavy workload, I needed to be putting in more hours) that I needed to follow my bliss. I told him I was never going to be happy working more hours at something that was sucking the life out of me and making me feel like a lousy mom. (I didn't use those words exactly). I told him that by June, I wanted to be working full time for myself, building my illustration portfolio and seeing my guys. He was incredibly supportive and surprisingly kind. He said while he was sad to see me go he was very excited for me. He knew I was not happy. I hope to phase out of my current job and transitioning into my new life over the course of the next two months. I offered to do freelance and my boss seemed pretty receptive. I hope the offer is sincere.

So thanks to the support of an incredibly understanding and loving husband, I'm taking a giant leap of faith and hoping I don't break my neck in the process. I am equal parts liberated, excited and scared to death. I can do this right?

Yeah, I can do this.