shot of sass, served on (n)ice

Monday, May 19, 2008

I Wished I Was Riding Dirty

The Weekly Special this week is all about what job we would like to do if there were no obstacles in our path. Plenty of money at my disposal, no existing obligations or hang ups. (This could prove rather difficult for me since I still don't know what I want to do when I grow up. That has come to be a bit of a problem for a gal fighting off 30 with both fists!)

At first the connection was drawn to what my dreams were as a child, what I most wanted to be when I grew up. Weeeell, that doesn't apply so much now... Mostly because back when I was a wee one, what I most wanted to do when I grew up was to be the trash man that got to ride on the back of the truck. Fun, right?! Probably still fun, but maybe a little more stinky than I would prefer. At one point when I was a little older I decided that I was going to be a pediatrician. I think I just grabbed that one out of thin air and since my mom jumped right on board, I went with it.

At some point I dropped the pediatrician facade and moved on to... uncertainty. Sometimes that lack of direction has driven me insane, but I think ultimately it has allowed me to look around and peek into a variety of options. Most notably would be motherhood. I can only assume that if I were pursuing med school right now (sorry, Mom) I would not have either of my children. Having my girls has given me reason to rethink my direction and how I define my purpose. If money and sanity were not a factor, I would choose to stay at home with my kids.

I thoroughly enjoy teaching them new things and seeing them discover and explore. I would love to have a play room in our house that had fantastic teaching tools and materials and would stimulate them to think, imagine, create and learn. We would spend lots of our time outside, away from the television, with a variety of animals and plants. We would routinely go to play dates where the girls could socialize with other kids and us moms could be catty and discuss the latest celebrity faux pas and have a glass of wine. Glasses of wine, perhaps. (This is all in a perfect world, mind you, which would require that I don't climb the walls with my four year old's in.cess.ant talking or the baby's refusal to take a nap.)

Having said all that, and knowing that I would have a very hard time maintaining the patience required to be sweet and chipper and teacher-esque after the forty millionth 'Mama?' in a row, I may opt for another avenue. The co-owner of a bad ass ranch/horse breeding facility. Hell yeah. In our dreams upon dreams David and I would like to own our own place, run cattle and breed and train horses. Since I've got fat cash at my disposal and we could buy one hell of a place, I would like to spend half of my days working at the Headquarters. No boss, no daily grind and no dress code would be nice. I would be the office guru doing what comes easy, chatting up customers doing what comes naturally and pitching in around the place doing what comes with good intentions (whether it be with skill or not). The other half of my day would be with the girls, combining my two dreams. Surely there would be plenty of teaching moments at the ranch and I could maintain my sanity with just half a day's worth of 'Why?' I would get to spend more time with David (this is my dream, remember, not his ;) ), as would the girls. Aww, wouldn't we be the cutest family ever?

The best part about this whole deal is that the only thing keeping me from my goal is money. And as soon as we find it, you know where I'll be: buying a ranch. And a garbage truck. Some dreams never die...

2 tips left at the bar:

penelope said...

Lovely post. I feel like I wanted to be a garbage man at some point in my childhood too. Or a UPS gal. Something about riding around on that truck, hopping on and off at each house, it was strangely appealing.

ashley said...

One of the things I want to do before I die is learn to ride a horse. I hope you and David will let me visit your awesome ranch and get lessons from the pros. Probably Miss E could teach me, ya think?