What are the chances?

As I was reading through some blogs today, I have found that there are a few wonderful ladies who have actually had some similar experience to what I have gone through.  It made me start to think.  These women are doing exactly what I love to do, they are receiving thousands of views everyday, getting paid to be home with their families, and the knowledge I have is just an addition to what they have.  So, it made me wonder what and why I hadn't thought of so much more of this sooner!

As a person who fears failure, but accepts it humbly....I realized that each failure is just another opportunity to grow and learn.  With that being said, it does not make any failure any easier, but it does put it into perspective for me. 

My areas of knowledge don't necessarily mean I'm an expert, but they are areas that I have learned, learned by other failures, or studied.  I am not a well-rounded person.  Until I moved to Missouri in the late 90's, my knowledge was bar-tending and business.  I knew nothing of gardening, farming, canning, or natural health.  The past 15 years have taught me much more than the first 22 years of my life.  The past 15 years have been hard, trying, rewarding, overwhelming, and many of the things I've learned...I did so to fit with my new extended family.  I can tell you that I am very glad I have learned so much though.  I still strive to learn something new everyday.

Now, I work hard to keep my family in a natural environment.  Most of our foods are grown, raised or bought organically.  Most of any illness is treated using herbs and teas, as opposed to prescriptions.  I'm not against them, as every form of medicine has a time and place, however I believe too many people are too quick to ask for an RX, before finding the source of the problem.  Our family is a home school family out of necessity.  It was not our original plan, but it is our choice now.  It's not necessarily for everyone, but it was the best choice for us. 

As a wife and a mom, I have attempted to work outside of home.  It didn't work for us.  I was basically working to work.  I wasn't making enough to justify working.  Having been a SAHM for 10 years now, I'm finding that trying to find work( even part-time) is very difficult.  Many of my skills are outdated, and I have a complete lack of patience to deal with not-so-intelligent people.  The one area of knowledge that I somewhat still have is a field that requires a lot jumping through hoops, hurry up and wait, and lots of time spent for the interviewing process.  Not everyone understands the process that goes into this field, but when you do get into it, it's a great paying field. 

I have spent a lot of time trying out the home-business industry.  I tried many different opportunities and were complete scams.  I bought into 4 different companies that worked for awhile but my lack of willingness to put the business before my family...there are just 2 I work with now.  One is fun and has made me a decent income.  The other is great, but takes a lot more time and has not made me much to this point.  My true passion is writing, helping people and caring for my family.

Now comes the interesting time.  How to make a decent income, care for my family, and find something that stirs a passion in my heart.  So, now to make a list of areas that stir that passion.  A short list is pretty easy.  Helping others, helping my community, writing, teaching children about yesteryear, spending time on my computer learning, and working in my garden.  A longer list...that's becoming more difficult.  The longer I stay out of the working environment, the less useful skills I have.  My dilemma is deciding what direction to take from here.  Do I try to find money to go back to school, do I attempt some sort of home business, keep working with home-based businesses, find a skill and charge to teach others, or what?  I'd be curious to hear your thoughts.  Please feel free to leave comments!

As I venture into this weekend, this will all be weighing heavily on my mind.  Hopefully, an evening out with my hubby for our anniversary will allow us to bounce ideas off each other without interruption. 

~Sal