… there’s more! This was just a couple months before my husband was due to get out of the Navy and he was not finding suitable opportunities locally so, once again, we moved. I spent that fall getting us all settled into our new area, new school, and new routines. As I started looking for a new job, both my husband and son had expressed that they did not enjoy having me working full time, so I decided it was time to take advantage of the flexibility available in the accounting field. After all, that was what had solidified my career decision in the first place.

I ended up in a small CPA office where I could put my son on the school bus in the morning before heading to work and follow the school bus home every afternoon. If my son was sick or had a day off from school, I was able to stay home with him. In the summertime, I would bring him to the office and a co-worker’s high school aged kids would pick him up and keep him for the day. This was the life I had envisioned! Almost.

During this time, I decided to use my skills to give back to the community as my mom had taught us to do. I became the treasurer for the Cub Scouts and the local PTO while also taking my CPA exam with my hand over my mouth, literally, so I wouldn’t throw up on the test. Our second son was born the next Spring.

Once again, I was at home spending my spare time using our household finances to create spreadsheets for budgets and asset tracking and cash flow forecasts. Oh, my! I was applying for bookkeeping jobs and asking if they would let me work from home, but, as much as they all wanted to hire me, the positions always needed to be on site.