Hello!
I wanted to take this week to introduce myself, and also Fence Row Living. I think it’s appropriate to combine them as both are a little bit new to me these days.
My name is Tina Campbell. I live on two acres in central Iowa with my husband and teenage son, a dog and a cat, and whatever wildlife happens to wander through. The first half of my life has been spent trying various careers and learning that the traditional, corporate ladder is definitely not my gig. So, what is my gig, and what is Fence Row Living? That’s where the story gets good.
Four years ago I was sitting in an 8x8 cubicle, tethered to a telephone, talking about insurance and hoping the person on the other end did not hear the crack of my voice as I attempted to keep the tears at bay. In a word, I was miserable. Already in my mid-forties, I was living through yet another failed attempt at finding my way. By my latest estimation I had been employed at 30 different businesses and I was over it.
On an early morning in February of 2017, as I drove toward town and work, tears already rolling down my cheeks, I called in sick. I wasn’t lying. Technically, I was sick! Sick of the job, sick of that phone, sick of trying to be someone I wasn’t, but mostly I was sick of me and my attitude. I pulled into a church parking lot, turned the car off, threw my phone on the floorboard and cried. When I was too cold to cry anymore I found some napkins and sanitizing wipes and cleaned my face. I started my car, drove out of the parking lot and began praying, “What now Lord? What am I suppose to do? Where am I suppose to be?”
I kept praying and driving. I knew I was about to quit, yet another job and the thought of searching and interviewing made my stomach turn. When was the last time I had a job that made me excited to get out of bed every morning? Waiting for the light to change, I glanced left and saw a familiar sign. It was a garden center. It seemed a lifetime ago that I had made deliveries there. In my early twenties I had worked at a greenhouse in my hometown and I had loved it! I believe that the Lord works in mysterious ways. It might have seemed wrong of me to call in but I was exactly where I needed to be that day. Less than a month later I started working at that garden center. Three-years-later, I left that job too, but not because I was sick of it.
The day I walked into the garden center and asked for an application, I made a promise to myself that I would never again work where I felt less than. This job was just a place to rest and heal my soul, so I could one day create my own work and live out my dreams. I am a gratitude girl. I love the outdoors and nature and the smell of dirt. I have a passion for photography and simplicity. That is what Fence Row Living is about and for; a place where I plan to share my journey in the hopes of helping you find your path to a life of simple, heart-felt joy.
What is your dream? When was the last time you did something for a living that brought you pure joy? I’d love to learn more about you and I hope that Fence Row Living becomes a place where you can either rest and heal or begin to create what you dream of…or maybe both.
