My dad & stepmom just got new carpeting in the entire house, plus new living room & bedroom furniture. That probably doesn't sound like such a huge deal. But let's consider that they've been married for 15+ years. Most of the decorating in that house was done by my dad's second wife or my mom. It's not that he particularly enjoyed the decor that was in the house. He just didn't see the point in changing things, because he wasn't sure that my stepmom was going to stick around.
When Hurricane Katrina hit, the downstairs portion of the house (the garage area) was almost completely flooded. The majority of the things that got ruined belonged to my stepmom. As they were putting stuff in a dumpster, she turned to my dad and said, "Do you believe me now when I say I'm staying?"
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I was asked to take on a pretty big project earlier this year. It was a chance a lot of people I know would have jumped at. I didn't walk in to it blindly. I knew it was going to be a lot of work, and it continues to be. And I love it. I love the late nights, the spreadsheets, the emails. What I didn't anticipate was being called the names that I have been or the threats that have been directed towards me. It would be so easy for me to wash my hands and say, "I'm done. Someone else needs to take over. It's not worth it." But it is... it IS worth it. And there are these amazing, once in a lifetime moments that have come from being part of this that I wouldn't trade for the world. So I stay.
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What makes you stay? What makes you look at everything around you, everything that points to the fact that you should walk away, and still decide to stay? How do you know when it's worth it, despite what others say? When your heart is tired, what makes you hang in there?
