Hard work and determination make dreams come true

A little less than three years ago, I started this blog. At the time, I had no idea of the adventures it would take me on, the opportunities that I would receive and the money that I would start earning from it. It was a place where I wrote my thoughts and frustrations. Where I documented my role as a parent and as my life as a working mum. I certainly had no idea that three years down the line, I would be resigning from my day job! That I would not be going back to work after my second maternity leave.

Back at the beginning of January I wrote a post about my 2017 blogging goals. There were a few things that I was going to be focusing on throughout the year but my overall goal was to not have to go back to my job. I have known from the start that I would be in a position where I would only need to work part time but I didn’t know where to even start with that one. It was just a dream of mine to not have to find one. A dream which involved watching my baby grow and being able to do the school runs with my biggest boy. 

When I started earning money, little bits here and there, I put it into a savings account and let it grow. It was slow to begin with but as I started getting a bit more work it suddenly grew enough to enable me to go from taking nine months off work, to taking the full year off. 

Then something happened.

I started getting regular work. Some of it quite well paid work. And that savings pot kept building and building. When I finally disclosed to the other half just how much of a pot I had built, everything changed, he did the calculations (including the money I will be paid for my accrued holiday at work) and it turns out that I have enough to pay myself until well into next year. Only I’m obviously hopeful that I will continue to keep earning regular money and so the bigger that pot gets, the longer that I don’t need to find work outside of the home. 

And so on Wednesday night, I sent that email. I informed my work that I will not be returning in August. I handed in my notice. I resigned. I will no longer be an employee. 

Instead, I will be fully self employed. I will be a work from home mum. My occupation will be self employed blogger / stay at home mum. 

It still feels like a dream. It still feels unreal. I can’t believe that I will be doing the school run. That I will be scheduling a couple of days when Oscar will go to my mum’s so that I can have solid hours to work on the blog. And when I have that extra time, I will be able to look at taking on other work, either freelance writing or social media management. If I am lucky of course. 

Blogging/writing/social media is a tough world. With freelancing, there is no guaranteed income. Some months can be completely dry of work while others are flourishing. That’s why I needed that pot there, so that I have money to fall back on when those dry months come by. But hopefully I won’t be using all of it and I can continue on this new journey of being at home with my boys. To be the one at the school gates to pick up my biggest boy. To hear all about his day. To be the one that takes my littlest to the park or to playgroups. That has been my dream always and my dreams just came true. 

Hard work and determination really does pay off. If it all goes tits up, if the work dries up completely, then I’ll accept it and go and get a job. Going self employed in this business is a risk but it’s a risk worth taking.

For every extra day, week or month that I get to stay at home, the hard work will have been worth it. Just to see my two smiling boys day in, day out and knowing that I am their main caregiver. It’s such an incredible feeling and I am so blooming proud of myself. 

I believed I could, so I did! And it’s all for these beauts!