When “Someday” Suddenly Became “Now"
My husband and I have always talked about all the things we would do someday.
Someday, when we retired, we would travel more. We’d buy a little piece of land with a quaint, cozy cabin, a couple of horses, and probably more farm animals than we had any business owning.
We pictured ourselves growing old there together—probably arguing over whose turn it was to feed the animals while sitting on the porch drinking coffee and enjoying the life we had spent all those years building.
We had time.
At least, that’s what I thought.
Then came the day that changed everything.
My husband was diagnosed with heart failure and pulmonary hypertension.
Suddenly, all those plans we had made for “someday” didn’t feel so certain anymore.
Then things got even harder.
He had to leave his job because physically continuing to do the work he had been doing simply wasn’t an option. Working that way could make his condition worse, and no paycheck was worth that.
I tried not to let him see how scared I was.
But I was terrified.
My mind went to places I didn't want it to go.
Are we going to get to grow old together?
Will I ever be able to retire?
How am I going to pay all of these bills by myself?
Are we going to lose our home?
And what about that little piece of land? The cabin? The horses? The traveling?
Those dreams suddenly felt like luxuries when I was just trying to figure out how to keep the mortgage paid and the lights on.
We went from a household income of around $125,000 or more a year to roughly $60,000.
And let me tell you, when your life and your bills are built around two incomes and one of those incomes suddenly disappears, things can fall apart FAST.
Credit cards, loans, and other bills started going into collections.
There were weeks when, if it hadn't been for my dad helping me, I wouldn't have even had money for gas.
At one point, we came dangerously close to losing our home.
That's when I found a second job cleaning Airbnbs.
And those cleanings were truly a blessing.
They helped me keep a roof over our heads. They helped pay the electric bill, insurance, car payments, groceries, and everything else that doesn't stop just because your life has been turned upside down.
I was even able to start chipping away at some of the debt we had accumulated.
But there was another cost I hadn't expected.
Time.
I was working constantly.
I was keeping the house.
I was paying the bills.
I was doing everything I could to hold our life together.
But I was spending even LESS time with the person I was doing all of it for.
And that realization broke me.
I found myself praying—and sometimes crying—to God more and more.
Yes, I was keeping the essentials in our lives.
We had food.
We had electricity.
We had water.
We still had our home.
But what good was working myself into the ground to save our life together if I was losing precious time living that life with him?
That's when something changed inside me.
I didn't just need another job.
I needed another way.
I needed a way to make money without constantly trading my time for it.
I needed something I could eventually do from home—or from anywhere.
Most importantly, I needed something that could give me more time with my husband.
Because I haven't given up on our dreams.
I still want that land.
I still want our cozy cabin.
I still want the horses.
I still want to travel.
I still want to sit on that porch with my husband when we're old and gray.
The difference is that I'm no longer comfortable assuming we have decades to wait before we start living those dreams.
So maybe we're just moving the timeline up a little.
Okay...maybe a couple of decades. 😂
At first, I thought the answer was going back to school.
I started looking into tech degrees and cybersecurity because I thought maybe I could get a degree, land a work-from-home job, and finally have more freedom.
I was actually getting close to signing up.
But the thought of taking on another $5,000, $10,000—or possibly much more—in debt when we were already trying to dig ourselves out terrified me.
Then I came across a woman online telling her story.
She talked about leaving her traditional job and learning how to make money online through a program that taught her the skills she needed without spending thousands and thousands of dollars on another degree.
And one thing she said stuck with me:
I needed to choose me.
That hit differently.
Because choosing me didn't mean I was being selfish.
Choosing me meant choosing us.
Choosing the possibility of more time with my husband.
Choosing the possibility of traveling together.
Choosing that little piece of land.
Choosing our cabin.
Choosing those horses.
Choosing the dreams that suddenly became far more important when I realized that tomorrow isn't something any of us are promised.
So I said yes.
I don't have some magical overnight-success story to sell you.
I'm learning.
I'm building.
I'm figuring things out.
And I'm sharing this journey because I know there has to be another woman out there lying awake at night wondering:
How am I supposed to make all of this work?
Maybe your circumstances aren't exactly like mine.
Maybe you're dealing with a job you hate.
Maybe you're drowning financially.
Maybe you're approaching retirement and realizing you aren't nearly as prepared as you thought you'd be.
Maybe life threw something at your family that you never saw coming.
Or maybe you're simply tired of putting everything you want to do into the “someday” category.
Whatever brought you here, I want you to know why I'm doing this.
I'm not chasing some picture-perfect internet lifestyle.
I'm chasing time.
Time with my husband.
Time to travel.
Time to build the life we dreamed about.
Time to sit on that porch someday, look around at our little cabin and our animals, and say:
“We actually did it.”
And if any part of my story sounds like yours, maybe it's time to start asking yourself what I've finally started asking myself:
What could happen if I stopped waiting for someday and finally said yes to me?
If you're ready to learn more about the opportunity I'm using to start building income online, click the link below and take a look.
No pressure. No promises of overnight riches.
Just the opportunity to see what's possible.
Because sometimes life changes the plan.
That doesn't mean we have to give up on the dream.
Comments