Coffee Chat - 10 Candid Answers by an Everyday Woman

I am really excited to kick off a new Coffee Chat weekly series. These are intended as a Monday Morning Inspiration (Aussie time) and they feature a candid chat with an Everyday Woman focusing on questions we ladies frequently ask. The aim is to make the series all inclusive so that it is inspiring to a wide range of women, e.g. married and a full time mum, married and working full time, single and working full time, single mother working or staying at home, etc. I am really passionate about these Coffee Chats because by shedding light on how others are approaching their daily challenges and achieving goals in their lives we can all be enlightened and empowered to live our best life. Also, because these women are Everyday Women just like us, we can easily relate to them and realise that we are not alone in life's daily grind.

Today's coffee chat :)

Who: Dalene
Occupation: Finance & Administrative Manager (Day Job) & Business Owner
Location: Brisbane, Australia

1. Tell me a bit about yourself.

I am a Mom of two extremely active kids who love the outdoors and a wife of a loving husband Germaine. We were neighbours since the age of 13 , we fell in love instantly and 20 years later are married for 11 years with two beautiful kids.

My professional background is in accounts and marketing, I am currently a finance and administration manager at a technical consulting firm. I work four days a week and take Wednesdays off. I spend my day off with my two children taking them to various activities, I also try to do my weekly shopping and work on my business which I am currently establishing. My business is called The Power of 12. It is a not for profit organization and the mission is to stir within each women the Power and Will to change their current circumstances and increase their resources so that they have more time for family, and more finances to meet the demands of daily living. There is so much wealth in this world, but it is sad that only a few people get to enjoy it. This fuels my passion to empower women and I have to find the means to fulfill that. The vehicle that I am currently using to achieve this mission is Amway, whose vision is “to help people live better lives." They offer the opportunity for anyone to become a distributor of their products and get rewarded based on the volume that is generated through your network.

 2. Pregnancy – what memories does it hold for you?

It holds the memories of a special time of bonding with my unborn babies. Talking to them and praying for them each day. I vividly remember that sense of awe I had each time I thought of my babies and how God had formed them and how magnificent conception is.

3. Describe your labour experience? 

WOW, it is hard to remember honestly, however the pain that I felt was something I still can't comprehend???

4. Motherhood - What does it mean to you?

Stormie Omartian, bestselling author of the book -  Power of a Praying Parent sums up exactly what Motherhood means to me. “It is the best job, the most difficult job; it can bring you the greatest joy and cause the greatest pain. There is nothing as fulfilling and exhilarating. There’s nothing so depleting and exhausting. No area of your life can make you feel more like a success when everything is going well and no area of your life can make you feel more like a failure when things go wrong.” 

5. What would you say was the best day of your life?

I have had a blessed life and many ‘best’ days, but one day that comes to mind is the day my family and myself went to pick Germaine up from Auckland International Airport where I saw him after 15 long months of us being apart from each other. Tears of Joy and peace swept over me.

6. What is the most difficult situation you’ve ever faced and how were you able to make it through this?

One difficult situation was being apart from my husband for 15 months. During this period I felt lonely, lost and hopeless at times, but through the support that I had from my family and the community in our local church I was consoled during that time. I focused on positive and reassuring words by regularly reading devotionals and the Bible and these gave me hope for our future together. During most tough situations I have encountered, I always look for the lessons and the struggles have made me a stronger woman today.

7. What do you find most rewarding?

Speaking positive words into people’s lives, giving hope and encouraging them to pursue achieve their potential. 

8. Can you share your evening routine and when you are able to get the kids to bed?

Bedtime for our kids is between 7.30 and 8pm. Most days we stick to this time, however there are times where the kids want to read another story or talk more about their day or would like us to pat and cuddle them a little longer. My husband is extremely efficient in this area, he usually bathes and puts the kids to bed, while I clean the kitchen, make lunches and iron our cloths. We take turns, and it’s usually decided on the night. 

A typical evening in our home:

My husband picks the kids up from school; I arrive home at 5pm and start preparing dinner or just finish off dinner if he already started it. 6 pm we have dinner. 6.45pm the kids go and have a shower. 7.15 pm saying goodnight to the family then bedtime story and prayer time. By 8pm the kids are in bed either still awake or sleeping and we do what we need to do for the next day.

9. If you could achieve anything in the world, what would it be?

Financial Equality – It is extremely difficult for me to comprehend that there is such extreme wealth in the world and only a few people share in it and the majority of the world is poor? I would like to change the odds in my lifetime. 

10.  Giant house in a subdivision or tiny house somewhere with a view? 

Tiny house somewhere with a view