To ask what’s the best decision you’ve ever made?

[Thispinks]

Some positive thoughts! It’s easy for us to think about what we’ve done wrong or could have done differently. But we’ve made some great decisions in our lives too! What are they? x

To get a dog 🐶

Being financially independent.

Also listening to a work colleague who advised me to pay into the work pension. I did this and it turned out to be a financial salary pension which means I can retire early.

Another one for leaving the ex. Took a lot of effort, a lot of putting things off and quite a lot of guilt about upsetting the children. But it’s taught me that it’s ok to put myself first for the first time ever (also a child of a narc parent), I finally dont have to answer to anyone about anything I simply just want to do rather than need to. Took 35 years to get to that point, a couple of years down the line and it’s heaven to be honest.

Leaving my home town for London at 21.Changed my life in so many positive ways.
Marrying DH.He is a wonderful husband and father.
Doing a return to nursing course when the kids were at primary school .
Getting our dog.

Buying a house in a less trendy more run down area. I will be mortgage free in my 40s instead of my 60s and not constantly stressed about interest rate rises.

Quitting social services in Edinburgh, filling a backpack and taking an unpaid months trial with a luxury watch dealer in London.
6 years later and I'm still there and absolutely love my job.

I love all of these answers !! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Such strong women and such powerful impacts from decisions made.

Can’t wait to read more x

To move in (with dh and kids) into mum and dad’s house when my dad was dying. It sounds nuts and maybe it was but I’m glad I was there. (Ds moved back in too)

Ignoring my own thoughts and sticking with my now husband. He is amazing, kind, gentle, a brilliant dad and has turned me from an angry, selfish, mean person into a much better version of myself just by being himself. He's never even raised his voice to me in the 23 years we have been together. I don't know what he saw in me, but I'm glad he saw me differently than I saw myself.

Having an abortion. The Dr delayed and delayed until I had to go for an actual operation (he was trying to put me off and wasted a month!). Guy who would have been the dad has fleeced 2 women out of savings (compulsive liar) and would have been in mine and DCs lives as much as he liked. I have no regrets about my choice but I wish the Dr had listened to me when I first went in and not given me the trauma of making me go for an operation miles away when I had a 2yo in tow and people shouting at us outside.

Not going back to work after my first. I ended up starting my own business which I love much more than my previous career.

I was turned down initially by my bank for a mortgage due to my age and salary. I went to an independent mortgage broker who got a mortgage for me. I'm so glad I persisted as I now own my home, just a small two-up, two-down but it's all mine!

"Nevertheless, she persisted" 🙌

Not having sexual intercourse until I was married. I see so, so many stories on this site about badly-timed or unwanted pregnancies. I didn’t want to live with the stress of worrying about contraceptive failures; I didn’t want to have a baby before I was ready to have a baby; and abortion is not a choice I could live with.

Marrying dh, having dd, moving to a cottage in the countryside. If ever I feel down and worried about other things that are going on I remind myself of these.

This is a dream. Do you mind me asking, how old were you when you did this, what course and roughly what do you manage to earn? Trying to work out other viable careers!

Joined a pension scheme at 18. 37 years later I’m counting down.

Choosing palliative care instead of oncology as my specialty (I'd had my heart set on oncology for years)
While it has its own challenges, I love my job. Not sure I'd still be in medicine if I'd gone the other way

Moving to New York City to take up a great job offer. I was terrified of uprooting the kids but they have flourished and are Americans now.

Second best was staying when husband didn’t take to it here and left to go back to the UK. Whole new life now and it’s fabulous.

Marrying my husband, having our child, going back to work and taking shared parental leave. My husband does 50% of housework, childcare, mental load. Despite working full time with full on jobs and a toddler, I don’t feel stressed, feel I have great quality time as a family and literally look forward to every day (as they start with my husband making me breakfast in bed and our toddler running in for cuddles).

How very brave you are, and what a difference you have made to your sons' future, wishing you peace, happiness and all the good stuff in life

Moving abroad on my own to teach.
I've been away from the UK for nearly 10 years now and have 30 more teaching days til retirement at 52 (the perk of free accommodation and tax free salary!)

To leave my well paid job in school leadership and retrain to be a midwife. I absolutely love my job

Divorce!

"KnickerlessParsons
To go back to work while my children were small."

^Yes this.
From four and five months each time pt.
Over twenty years on and never a single regret.^

Same. Kept my foot on the ladder. We just about broke even for the first few years but as childcare started getting cheaper - when one, then the other, started school - my salary started increasing and we were much better off than we would have been if I'd had to re-start my career.

That was one of the only good pieces of advice DM gave me when the kids were babies. The other was to establish a bedtime routine at a few months old and to stick to it.