I Love WordPress. But I Love You More.

I have made such a wonderful group of friends through WordPress. It’s gotten so that when I’m reading Facebook or Twitter on my phone and laugh out loud, it’s definitely one of my WordPress friends (you know who you are) that inspired the laughter.

I eat, breathe, sleep, work, read, and listen to all things WordPress. I’m a true convert. I’m a fan. (I’m a little over the top, I guess.)

But I Wouldn’t Have it Any Other Way

You see, WordPress has made it possible for me to make a living LOVING what I do.

There’s nothing like launching a site out into the world for public consumption. When a client calls/texts/emails you that they love how you have created their space for them, your heart swells a little. One client thanked me for finally making them “look cool.” How cool is that?

I love messages like those. Who wouldn’t?

And now that I’m in a full-time position at GiveWP, I get to help people all over the world raise money to make their communities even better. I’m not lying when I say I discovered my dream job here.

Are There Days I Don’t Love My Job?

There will always be a day here or there when things don’t go how I want them to. Or something amazing is happening elsewhere in my life that I can’t attend because of deadlines. Or I just don’t feel like getting up and getting into it.

Sometimes I don’t feel creative. (Shocking, I know!)

And some days I’m reminded that there is more to life than work – no matter how much you love it.

Finding Balance

There is more to life than WordPress. There is more to life than work. Most of you reading this are probably thinking “well, duh! Of course there is!” But to a workaholic, perfectionist, overachieving, overcommitted, 11th hour specialist like me…that takes some effort to recognize. 

When my daughter was younger, I had no choice but to force a better balance in my life. She needed to be fed, helped with homework, clothed. We enjoyed playing games together and watching television. We liked going out. But then I became an empty-nester who filled her time with work. And liked it.

But 80-hour work weeks stop being fun at some point. You have to find something to balance your life.

What I Love More than WordPress

As a reminder to myself to focus on things other than WordPress and work. Here is an incomplete list of things I actually love more than WordPress:

  • My daughter
  • My family
  • My friends
  • Filet mignon
  • Taking my camera out for a photo adventure
  • My cats
  • Travel
  • And, occasionally, sleeping

But WordPress is Still toward the Top of My List

Yes, there are things I love more than WordPress. But at the end of the day, it’s my work with WordPress and in the WordPress community that makes the other things in my life possible – time with loved ones, a good steak dinner, traveling, and my cameras, to name a few.

And my favorite thing about WordPress is the community. The people are amazing. As Rich Robinkoff says, “Code is Poetry, but the people are the poets.”