Ambition Amidst the Day to Day

When I left the corporate world to deal with the double whammy of a second child and a move to the suburbs, I thought I knew what I was leaving behind. Deadlines. Meetings. Stress. And ... paychecks.

But I didn't appreciate that I was also leaving behind recognition and quantifiable success. Promotions and bonuses. Praise from superiors and peers.

Having all the beds made before noon or the laundry done on Sunday night are quantifiable successes, but they're not very rewarding. The joy of receiving a sticky kiss from Juliette, watching Jack tie his shoes on his own for the first time, or talking with Bella about the plot of her latest book cannot be measured. But those successes are not something the outside world can appreciate.

Lately, I've come to realize that it's okay for me to still have my own aspirations, in addition to my family's health and happiness.

These personal goals enrich my life, give me a sense of self-worth, and make me jump out of bed in the morning. I've got big brazen goals that I'm terrified to even speak of them, except in a sneaky parentheses (Modern Love Column in the New York Times).

And I've also got smaller goals, little challenges that make me sit up with pride, and shout to my husband and kids: I did it!

This morning was one of those times, when one of my pictures was accepted by FoodGawker. I braced myself for another rejection, complete with critique about blurriness or other photo faults, like this previous submission.


But instead, I read that my picture has been accepted. And this is my success of the day, the pink princess that made my Juliette's birthday, and today made my day.



Here's to finding the successes in your day! This is my Wordful, Wordless and Way-back wednesday post!

This is an original Chefdruck post. Please don't copy without my permission.