Flipping roles and working out the puzzle

One of the things I haven't talked a lot about in the Blog is my husband's career and what's happening there. He's been a freelance writer working primarily in the video game world for over a decade. With a change in that industry, his career has changed too. He's been seeking meaning in his career for a long time now. Meaning that he wasn't getting from the video game world. A few years ago, he started volunteering with Boards of Directors for organizations he cares about and our school. He learned a lot about the non profit world directly and that helped augment the knowledge osmosis he experienced being around me and my non profit pursuits all these years.

So, to make a long story short, he was offered a grant writing job with a non profit he cares about. It is a regular, on-going, stable job. It has benefits. It looks a lot like the jobs I used to do- lots of rewards that don't show up in the paycheck. We have now flipped roles and hopefully we don't flip out.

In this new economy, we've faced facts that our earning potential is decreased right now. Since we are specialized, finding jobs that are a match has been one issue. Then we have to factor in that these roles don't pay like they did five years ago. We're not sure what the future will hold in terms of income levels, but we know that the past is over. Time to center into 2010 and what we have in the here and now.

I'm earning money writing now which makes it official- I'm a writer, among other things. I get to be the freelancer now and find myself again professionally as a forty-something mom of three.
I'm excited that Bill is the one doing the desk job this time and that I get a chance to see what I can do is I have some space to flex my wings. Having a consistent income will surely help me process!

He starts next week and then I get to see how to make the puzzle work. The good news is that, after both of us out of work for a year, we're still alive and kicking. We made it through and now we just have to keep plugging away and be patient and persistent. Whew.