When Life Said ‘Oops’ and I Said ‘Okay!

They say, “Ships are safest in the harbor, but that’s not what ships are built for.” I had anchored myself comfortably in a job for four years, riding the waves of routine, sipping the same brand of tea in the same cubicle, with the same stories replaying like old sitcoms. It was safe, predictable, and well… honestly, a little boring. But life whispered, “Babe, you were meant for more than cubicle coffee.”

So, I did the unthinkable—I stepped out. Out of my comfort zone, out of my city, and out of the country. It was thrilling… until it wasn’t. The first two months were eerily quiet—no interview calls, no responses, not even those automated “We regret to inform you…” emails. It felt like I had swiped right on every job portal and been left on “seen” by the universe. But I held on.

Then the tide turned. Interviews trickled in, opportunities unfolded, and I landed a job that made me believe in divine timing. But the best part wasn’t the paycheck or the position. It was the people—strangers who became soul sisters and coffee mates who turned into lifelines. “Sometimes, the risk you take isn’t about the place you go, but the people you meet along the way.”

If career hopping was a calculated risk, motherhood was a full-blown plunge into the unknown with no parachute—especially the third time. Our daughter, Jenika, was an “oops” wrapped in “oh-no” and sprinkled with “what-now?” Even the doctor wore her serious face and warned, “Think practically.” With my weight and the lurking shadow of gestational diabetes, it was a medical chart’s worst nightmare.

But sometimes, the heart whispers louder than logic. We said yes.

And that yes turned into a giggle-filled, chubby-cheeked miracle. Jenika arrived, all pink and pouting, like a sassy angel who knew the chaos she was born into and embraced it with sparkle. Her name means “God’s gracious gift,” and she lives up to it every day—especially when she smothers her siblings in unsolicited hugs or demands chocolate at 7 a.m.

“The biggest risks bring the smallest feet that leave the deepest imprints.”

In hindsight, the two most uncertain decisions of my life—leaving a job and welcoming Jenika—turned out to be my richest treasures. The first gave me a career that challenged me. The second gave me a daughter who completes me.

Life isn’t about always playing it safe. If it were, we’d all be eating plain toast forever, afraid to try jam.

Thought to ponder:
“Every risk holds a lesson, a story, or a smile. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, it holds all three. So when life dares you to leap—jump. The net might just be made of laughter, love, and a little girl named Jenika.”