My husband just got a new job. It was unexpected, happened very quickly, and was very nerve-racking.

You see my husband, like me, is a teacher. He has taught at the same school for the last 12 years. The same school district that he grew up in and graduated from. So altogether, he spent 24 years on that campus. That’s a LONG time!

There were some good times and some bad times but definitely more good than bad. He was unhappy with parts of his job but as a whole he loved it. He loved the kids, mostly. Because, after all, any good teacher will tell you, it has to be about the kids because it sure isn’t about the money and fame! Richie had every intention of returning to his job at the end of the summer.

I used to teach at the same school. I loved working with my husband but there were some things I was unhappy about and it just came time for me to leave. Two years ago, I took a job in a neighboring school district. The new job was the same distance (7 miles) from my house but came with a small pay raise. In the world of teaching even a SMALL pay raise can seem like A LOT of money. While the pay raise was a great bonus, it wasn’t the entire reason for my decision. Personal happiness and mental well-being were much larger factors.

Richie was never swayed by the things I was unhappy about. Perhaps because he’s a guy or perhaps because he is more laid back. I can’t be certain but what I do know is that at the end of the day he was able to let go of things a little quicker than I.

I digress. Back to the new job…

Last week, Richie got a call from a friend that there was a job opening in another school district. The school is 45 minutes from our house and there was no pay raise over his current position. He sent in his resume on a whim and said, “Why not?” when they called him for an interview the next day.

He went to the interview with only the purpose of experiencing the interview. He likes to keep on top of the type of questions people ask “just in case” he ever decides to try for a new position. He didn’t even shave and told me he was “keepin’ it real” in the interview. Whatever that means!

Low and behold, they called him and offered him the job. Richie was shocked and didn’t know what to say. After all, he hadn’t even considered that they might actually want him. He hadn’t even considered being faced with the decision of whether to take it or leave it and for the next 24 hours he fretted over the decision.

There will be no pay raise. He isn’t concerned with personal happiness or mental well-being. The fact is that the position isn’t a “better” position than his current one, it is just a “different” position. So how do you make that decision? When faced with choosing between two, for all purposes identical things, how do you decide? It’s 50/50. It’s heads or tails. It’s anything but black and white.

In the end, Richie chose to take it. Why? Simply because there was really no reason not to.

So how does that relate to our theme {Grow Where You Are Planted}? Honestly, I don’t know. But at the same time, I do.

In life, opportunities are presented to us. We can take them or we can pass them by. Choosing one over the other may not alter our destiny but they may open some doors (or windows, or crawl spaces). They may not.

Sometimes being able to grow where you are planted requires the stretching of your roots. It requires bending to reach the sun. It requires change.

Sometimes, in order to {Grow Where You Are Planted}, you have to pack up and move.

Do you have a story that relates to our August Theme of {Grow Where You Are Planted}? Send your stories to julie@arkansaswomenbloggers.com.