true boy tales: First Day

Monday, January 3, 2011

First Day

Well, our lives are about to change. Jon started his first day of a new job today. It came up kind of out of the blue. Some friends we've known our whole Iowa lives (Randy Nesbit and Davey Bloom) offered Jon a job with them selling insurance wholesale to insurance companies (or something like that). They had a new zone/area/district (I can't think of the word) open up for sales and offered it to Jon so he'll actually be travelling to Kansas every week for a while, and then probably just once a month after he establishes contacts and relationships. He's trying it part time for the first two months while he contines with mortgages and if its a good fit, he'll start full time and close his mortgage business.
This is going to impact our lives a lot, since Jon's owned his own company almost our whole married lives. He's always only worked a handful of hours every day (if that). His schedule has always differed from day to day and he's usually in and out of the house all day. He's pretty good at staying busy with different projects but he's always had a lot of free time. I can't imagine having a husband work from 9 -5! I rely on him a lot for help with the boys and he also does the majority of the cleaning and half the laundry. I know--most of you moms are probably thinking, "Oh, boo hoo. Now you'll know how the rest of us do it!" And yeah, that's true. I've had it easy compared to a lot of moms. But its all I've ever known!
I'm excited for the change this will bring. I'm sure there will be a lot of positives--I like predictability so it'll be really nice to know his schedule from day to day. And when he's home, he'll be home. For the past 8 years he's had to take phone calls at any time during the day and evening and even on vacations. He never got a true "break" from work. But I do feel like I'll have to step it up around the house. I'm a terrible housekeeper and I've let him do most of it since I do more of the childcare. I'll keep you posted as we adjust to this new chapter of our lives.

I asked him if I could take a "first day" picture of him-posed by the front door with his back-pack or something, but he wouldn't let me :)

6 comments:

mandaJanuary 3, 2011 at 11:49 AM
First of all...LOVE the new blog set up! The pics in your header are FANTASTIC!!

Second...What a great opportunity for Jon and your family! The unknowns can be scary and it will be quite the transition for all of you but I know you will handle it with grace. You are a great wife and mom who I think can handle just about anything!!
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jon colyerJanuary 3, 2011 at 3:01 PM
i just didn't want my picture yet because my spiderman lunch box was in the dishwasher
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C MaeJanuary 3, 2011 at 5:10 PM
Love the fam pic with Bennett resting his head on his daddy's shoulder.....Very precious!

My dad dabbled in insurance for a while, when I was in HS actually. It didn't last long. I hope that doesn't discourage you (or your hubby) but my dad is a BUSINESS man with a capital B and when a job isn't rollin in the $$$ or it isn't challenging enough, he bounces. That was always the rule with my mom. So long as it didn't effect the family financially, he could change jobs as much as he wanted!

Love the new header..Keep us posted on how things go! :)

Don't worry about the housework and feeling guilty...It's nice you have help!! All those whiny ladies that have to do it all should really find something else to complain about! Housework is life! (sad face on that one!)
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NikkiJanuary 3, 2011 at 5:39 PM
Good luck to both of you! Sounds like a great opportunity, and traveling to KC isn't too shabby. You may have to tag along every so often to sneak in a little time at the Plaza.
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i'm B.January 3, 2011 at 6:38 PM
yay! congrats to jon! i hope this transition happens smoothly.
and i love your new blog look!
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jon colyerJanuary 4, 2011 at 6:56 PM
i guess that means you'll have to cut way back on your daily blog reading:)
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for the book lovers {my recent favorites}:

Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan: An incredibly haunting medical memoir. There's a lot of medical info to read through but I didn't find those parts boring and difficult to wade through. I thought she shared just enough. But if you like a book that's easy to read, this isn't it. I couldn't get this one out of my mind for a very long time. An unforgettable true story.
Me Before You by JoJo Moyes and What Alice Forgot by Lianne Moriarty: I'm just going to lump these two together because they're in the same category. I'm calling them deep chick lit. A perfect summer book to get lost in. Read them. Both. I promise you from the bottom of my heart that you will LOVE them. (I liked them both way better than Where'd You Go, Bernadette.)
These Is My Words by Nancy E. Turner: Most of my favorite books have a main character with a whole lotta grit. I wasn't quite sure about this one when I first started it but, oh, did it sweep me in and not let me go til the last page. I also love a book that makes me "emote out loud" as I like to think of it. This one had me smiling all the way through and crying my eyes out at the end. It follows a young girl through her life in the Arizona Territories in the late 1800's. A must read for anyone who likes Historical Fiction.
Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill. I LOVED this book. Its a very well researched historical fiction novel about a young girl kidnapped from her village in Africa and sold into slavery. It follows her through her whole life and the unbelievable heartache and trauma she lives through. I've been telling people I liked it as much as Unbroken but the main character is so much more endearing and has so much spunk.
Another Place at the Table by Kathy Harrison. I have a thing for modern day memoirs of utterly heartbreaking stories (Like Breaking Night and Blackbird). This is a Foster mother's first-hand account of the children she took in over the years and the unbelievable trauma they went through before they came to her.
Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls. I loved this lighthearted yet emotional story of a strong woman making the best of a hard life in the Southwest, beginning in the 1930's. I love her writing style--just cuts to the point of every story without too much "fluff" and yet tells it in a way that you can picture everything in vivid detail. Her memoir, The Glass Castle, is one of my all-time favorites, and this true-life novel about her grandmother didn't disappoint.
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. Modern day fiction about a girl raised in Foster homes and her struggles throughout life. She learns about the Victorian Era language of flowers and that becomes a huge part of her life. I finished it in two days. An easy read but very emotional and moving.
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers. The true story of a man's experience after Hurricane Katrina when he decided not to evacuate in order to look after several properties he owned. Quite an unbelievable story and so hard to believe this happened in the US only a few years ago.