If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain

Dolly Parton once said, “The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”

Pushing Through to get to the Rainbow

Jen: My job has given me plenty of opportunities to practice getting through the rain to see the rainbow. I love what I do, but I don’t love decisions made by higher-ups that I disagree with but have to adhere to anyway. Recently, I have had some challenging “rain” situations at work. Every time I’ve been hit with some kind of stormy weather, I have paused to wrap my head around it, made a mental plan, and then pushed forward. It hasn’t come without frustrating days or sleepless nights, but my efforts haven’t wavered. My attitude is one of determination. I double down until I get to where I need to go, living by the phrase, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

Nick: Coincidentally, the rain in my life lately has been from my job. While I love my job, I’ve recently taken on a new leadership role. At first, it was like I stepped out into a gentle rain with my flimsy drug store umbrella thinking “I can handle this.”

Soon after, the sheer volume of work has become much heavier. It’s like the wind has picked up and the rain is blowing sideways in random directions now. Sometimes I have things building up faster than I can finish them off.

While it’s more than I expected, I still have a “can-do” attitude about my job. When I coach my team, I like to tell them that when you’re feeling overwhelmed, you’re still best off just doing the right things in the right order. These are words I try to live by.

Finding the Good in the Rain Along the Way

Jen: In our marriage vows, we promised to stay together under blue skies as well as in stormy weather – for richer or poorer, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health. In our 31 years of marriage, we have been through a lot: lots of storms, followed by lots of rainbows.

One storm we went through was when my youngest brother passed away suddenly. I struggled to open up to Nick as I tried to process what had happened. For months, we were in survival mode. I was distracted and going through the motions of being a spouse and a mom, taking care of my usual tasks in robot-mode. Through it all, Nick was by my side, listening when I was willing to talk, pitching in when I was clearly not able to do things, and loving me all the way through.

Nick: A few years ago, I wasn’t loving my old job at all. Contraction of the company business had driven several rounds of layoffs in which I had to make the difficult calls. It was unbearable, and I told Jen I had to make a change.

Only because of her loving support and belief in me was I able to step away from one job without another one lined up. Over the next four months, Jen supported me and we worked together to make sure we could make it without losing everything. Having Jen on my side was everything through that experience, bringing me out of the rain to find the rainbow.

Supporting Each Other

It’s true that you’ve got to put up with the rain to see the rainbow. It’s even better when your spouse is right there with you, huddling under the same umbrella. We hope you all take the time to recognize and support each other and take in the reward of whatever your rainbow is together.