Regardless of our age, career path or financial situation, our lives are continually evolving. People may say that life doesn’t happen in rural Nebraska, or that the benefits of city living far outweigh those of small communities. I tend to disagree with both of these stereotypes.
Life “before the Burg” as I call it, our lives revolved around our jobs. Every day was a series of getting the kids and ourselves up and out the door. Take care of the necessary tasks of our jobs, catch up with friends—who were predominantly colleagues—and rush home in time to pick the kids up, have dinner and go to bed. Weekends were spent making up for the time we had lost during the previous five days. Cleaning, laundry, cooking. Repeat.
In Petersburg, we still have a schedule. Our careers remain a large part of our days. But the bigger picture is different here. Putting family first isn’t met with raised eyebrows. Our circle of friends extends far beyond any office walls. And our children have an entire network of people, young and old, supporting them.
I recently made the decision to go back to work fulltime. As a majority of the population does put in a 40-hour work week (or more) this shouldn’t be a big deal. But combined with some committees, freelance work and other volunteer responsibilities, I worry about missing out on time with my family. It’s a cherished luxury.
Hashing out the opportunity with a friend one afternoon, I was reminded again of what makes this community so unique. She works in a completely different industry. Puts in long days and plenty of weekends. More than likely doesn’t really understand what I do every day, and yet she was reassuring me things would work out. My kids wouldn’t suffer. People are more than willing to pitch in if I needed them.
Working through our new schedule with other people in our “network” I was told the same message. Support is here; all we have to do is ask. What is even more amazing is that we’re just dealing with a job change. Time and time again, whether someone is injured, has a family member in need, or has experienced some other major life event, this community comes together to lend a hand—or, at minimum, offer words of support.
If you take a look inside this community, you’ll see that our priorities are different than most. Sure, a majority of our schedule includes work but there’s so much more. There’s support—for our neighbors and the future of this community. It may not be perfect, however it is anything but stagnant.
