Hello my lovely friends, I hope you are all well! Thank you for bearing with me last week unfortunately there was no Mindful Monday post but I did manage to submit my PhD thesis! So expect lots more content from me personally as well as more Mindful Monday posts now that I don’t have a thesis to write 🙂
This week’s post comes from Rosa, who is based in California. I met Rosa through The Slay Baby Collective which is a #girlpower driven Facebook group created by author, podcast host, and master life coach Cara Alwill Leyba for women who want to uplift themselves and others. It’s such a positive space and I’m so grateful to have been able to interact with so many supportive women! I’ll the link to the group below for anyone who is interested.
But before that, I hope you enjoy Rosa’s heartfelt post about living life in the moment, dealing with heartbreaking situations and about having the courage to follow your true calling.
I began working when I was 16 years old. I grew up learning to be independent. For most of my life, it was just my mom, grandma, and myself. My dad passed away when I was 10. I studied hard and eventually, graduated from college with a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management.
After graduation, I immediately began working in hotels. I worked in reservations, then in Catering/Convention Services, then in Sales and finally I became General Manager. It wasn’t my goal, but the opportunity was there and I took it. Almost 20 years and three hotels. Throughout that time, I met my husband. I got married and years later became a mom. I have two beautiful kids.
I was your typical working mom. Got up, got ready, made lunches, went to work, came home, made dinner, helped with homework, and then bedtime. Housework was done on weekends or any available moment. It was exhausting, but I had to do it to provide for my family. We have a mortgage to pay and college to save up for. Even though I was making good money, I was never a big spender. My humble roots always taught me to save for a rainy day. And so we did. I was very fortunate to have my mom, who was retired, nearby to take care of my kids when I went back to work.
While I was working, I did envy the Stay at home moms. I always thought they were lucky that they had more time to manage their home and be with their kids. I hated when I’d hear them complain. I wanted to be a stay at home mom.And here’s where my story takes a turn. I was not happy with my job. I needed a change. I wanted to do something different in hospitality. I became bitter. I started to dislike people. My work environment was becoming toxic. Then, in 2014, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had battled it 20 years prior and survived. She thought it would be the same, but this time around, it was different. After her mastectomy, it was discovered that her tumor was triple negative and her cancer was Stage 4. It had spread to her bones and liver. She began chemotherapy and I became my mom’s caregiver. I would drive her to her all her medical appointments, as well as her chemotherapy sessions. I was fortunate to be able to adjust my work schedule, even though, as General Manager, I was on call 24 hours a day (yes, I did get calls at 1am and on holidays, like New Year’s Day), so I could basically work from anywhere with my smart phone. Life was crazy. Between the emotional roller coaster of my mom’s disease and the stress from a job I disliked, but couldn’t leave due to my situation, to being wife and mom, my health, emotional and physical, was taking a toll on me. I was prepared to quit my job to become my mother’s full time caregiver, if need be. But, I didn’t have to. In March 2015, she lost her battle. I was devastated. One of her last words to me was to take care of my little ones and be the best mom for them. They were my priority. So, I did what I had to do. I quit my job. It was the best decision I ever made. I not only needed the time to grieve and recuperate, I needed to be the best mom I could be. I needed to make up for the time I wasn’t there for my kids because I had to work. Life is too short. I could die tomorrow, or next month, or in 40 years. But, I wanted to live each day and enjoy each moment.
It’s been almost 2 years since my mom passed and since I left my job. I did become an Independent Designer for a Direct Sales company (Origami Owl Custom Jewelry) and work with my daughter. Who doesn’t love playing with jewelry? It’s something we share. Is it all wonderful? No. Money is tight. I budget considerably. I may not be able to enjoy a girls’ night or buy a fancy purse, but I wouldn’t change it. I’m with my little family and they are what matters. It was my mom’s death that made me realize that I needed to take charge of my life and truly enjoy it.
A huge thank you to Rosa for such an honest and inspirational post. I think this post is a great reminder that living an authentic life is about doing what is important to you!
Do you have a passion that you’d like to talk about for Making it Mindful? Please get in touch I’d love to hear from you!
Love,
Chrissy x
For more information about Rosa:
Rosa’s website: http://www.rosag.origamiowl.com/
Rosa’s Facebook:
And find Rosa on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and Snapchat @CharmingQbn
Apply to be a part of the Slay Baby Collective Facebook group here:
Making it Mindful 