When are you going back to work?

I’ve been asked this question many times. As some of you know, I am a Physician Assistant. I worked very hard to get myself through all the schooling required and had a wonderful job working in Family Practice. However, 14 years into my career, my boss wanted me to commit to working more hours. I was a homeschooling mom with a soap company on the side and felt like I couldn’t possibly be pulled in any more directions without going totally insane. I felt like my back was to a wall. I cried. I prayed. My husband and I talked over pros and cons.

Then guess what? I quit.

To the world, that seemed like a crazy decision. However, for our family, it was the best decision. Our kids were getting older and requiring more of me for schooling, and my husband and I had always planned on “one day” growing the soap business with our kids. 

Fast forward to the present day. Do I have any regrets? 

No regrets. I am so thankful that I have continued to homeschool my children. Had I chosen to work more, I’m not sure I could have done both, at least not well. Next year I will be teaching a 7^th, 8^th and 10^th grader. NEVER did I think I would be able to homeschool into the high school years, but here we are. It works for our family.

Do I miss working as a PA? Yes and No. I do not miss how medicine in general has changed and is dictated more and more by insurance companies than by what the provider feels is best for the patient. Practicing medicine today is very different than practicing medicine when I graduated in 1996. That’s a whole other blog post…

I will never lose my skills or knowledge. Both have served me well with our own family. Rarely do we have to bring our kids into the doctor, because I can “fix” most things at home. That includes stitching up my husband’s nose and forehead on the kitchen table when he fell off a ladder. I am the “go-to” person for anything medically related for our friends, for our neighbors, for my kids sports teams, in our homeschool co-op, etc. Knowledge is never wasted, it’s just redirected and used in different ways.

What about the satisfaction of helping people? Well, I feel that I get my “warm fuzzies” from my customers now, instead of my patients. I get so many phone calls and emails from customers who tell me that this or that product has made a huge difference in their skin and in how they feel. Those customer interactions make my day. Seriously, make my day!

That tiny soap company has grown. My customer base has grown. The amount of testimonials I get coming in from customers has grown. I feel that we have tried to position ourselves in the natural body care market within a special niche. Since I have a medical background, all of our products have been carefully created with a focus on good health and healthy living. I welcome questions and try to help educate customers as we all journey together in our quest for better health.

So when I will I go back to work? Well, I don’t think I ever left.

All my best,
Cindy