Goals are encouraged to be set by children for what they want to do for the rest of their life. Unfortunately, this is a decision that we want children to make at 18 years old. You graduate high school and the next question is what do you want to do for the next 60-70 years of your life? I believe that goals change throughout life depending on what happens in life. People change just as much as a career goal may change.
I ALWAYS wanted to be a teacher as a child and so I became a teacher. Here I am though, at 35 as a stay at home mom with about 10 years of teaching experience full time and part time but I am entering into a new phase of life that asks “What’s next?” My children will all be in full time school in September so that goals of stay at home mom are being altered into goals of a full time teacher and full time mom.
My 5 goals for the next 1-5 years
- Get a full time teaching position where I have the best of both worlds. A schedule that will allow me to be home with my children in the summer and holidays but will also fulfill my desire to boost my career and contribute more financially to our household.
- Continue to better myself physically. I have achieved the 5k, 10k, 13.1 miles, 26.2 miles and 50k as well as sprint, olympic, and half ironman triathlon distances. Will and I completed a spartan race about a decade ago and I would like to complete another one. I do not have a specific race in mind like I have in the past but it is to be my best self physically. I want to be in the best shape of my life and working out is not the issue but navigating my diet in the right direction is the next step I need to take. I have a healthy and balanced diet but could limit some of the indulgences.
- Taking care of my mental health. This is something that is always evolving and changing but I challenge myself to become more patient, more empathetic, and more appreciative of all of the wonderful things in my life rather than focusing on the negative. Mental health also includes the relationship that I have with my children and husband. In 5 years, my kids will be 9, 10, and 12. That is going to take a second to sink in! I want my kids to challenge themselves in school, sports, and activities and I can’t wait to be there to watch and enjoy all of it. This stage of life is difficult with running from one activity to the next but I honestly know that these are the best days of our lives with young children. I want to take that all in and enjoy each second for what it is worth!
- More traveling! This comes with the full time job hopefully to have the funds to contribute to this. But I want to travel more, we have been out of the country several times and once with my oldest, but I would love to get all three of the boys their passports and experience life in other countries as often as we can! This can lead to a greater educational experience as well as new cultures to be a part of. The ones on my bucket list right now are Greece, Scotland, Spain, Portugal, and Germany. Then some places in the country are Oregon, Seattle, San Diego, Colorado, and Utah. I am honestly up to travel anywhere and would love to bring my kids along for these travels!
- Volunteering and helping others. Helping other people is something that is always on my mind. I want people to be able to live their best life and if there is a way I can help, I want to be there for it! I volunteered at a soup kitchen as a child with my family and it truly is an experience that I will never forget. We are extremely fortunate and watching others as a child who are not is a valuable lesson that I want my kids to learn as well. I want them to know how to appreciate the things that they have and the blessings that they have. I believe in the next couple of years that we as a family can help work in a kitchen to serve food to others as well as continue to donate to charities.
Another great memory of helping others was partaking in the Covenant House sleepout in NYC in March of 2014. My sister, Dadjogger and I raised thousands of dollars from wonderful donations from family and friends to give to the children of Covenant House. This was an invaluable lesson of giving back and going through what other people live like on a daily basis. We slept on the streets of NYC however, with coats, blankets, and food. It was only a little taste of reality for so many but truly made me appreciate all that I have.
One other way that I volunteered was at the hospital where my Dad passed away in the summer of 2015. My goal was to be a candy striper but it ended up being more answering phones which ended up still fulfilling my desire to help at a place where they helped my Dad so much.
Conclusion
I want my three boys to know the value of volunteering and giving back because in this crazy world we need to see more love and giving rather than hate and taking! I also want them to be exposed to as many people, cultures, and places that we can and have a childhood where they can look back and say “Wow, we did a lot of awesome things!” I look forward to them being ready to set their own goals through picking a career and lifestyle and helping them to reach their full potential everyday!