It is a wonderful time to talk about some of the moments that brought me and my family where they are today.

To tell this story, I need to start in the summer of 2018. I was working as a waitress in northwest Arkansas. I was a single mom, so I would work doubles all weekend long so that I could spend the weekdays with my daughter. She was only 3, so not yet in school, and it helped me avoid daycare costs. However, one very long Saturday at work, I decided I needed to find something a bit more structured and reliable.

Thanks to the digital age, I was able to download a job search app and upload my resume, and I spent my lunch break that day pushing my resume to anyone who had a job posted in Cassville – including a position at the Cassville Democrat for a reporter and photojournalist.

Looking back, there was a perfect storm of things that had to align for everything to play out the way it did.

I remember getting an email asking for an interview while I was at the park with my daughter.

In preparing for the interview, the biggest concern for me was looking professional. So, I had decided to forgo my typically bright, creative, and maybe even maximalist style for a more business casual attire.

I changed from black slacks to a grey dress, back to black slacks for over an hour. Finally, I put on a pair of teal, skinny dress pants with a pink and navy chevron blouse – I felt like I was finally going to present myself in the interview.

The interview went well, although I must admit I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into. I had no desire really to be a journalist, I was previously in school studying psychology, and I had absolutely no experience in this industry.

This was also the moment I met Kyle, who was the editor and my soon to be boss. After the interview, he expressed his concerns about having to train me from the ground up and how difficult that could be, but his boss “had a feeling about me” and decided I was worth the trouble.

My first day was Aug. 18, 2018. Between August and December of that year, Kyle showed me everything he knew about this job. We had long conversations about why he loves it, the ethics of the position, and even some of the challenges it has. We went to the Wheaton Festival, a fourth of July event that had been postponed, we dressed up and went to the Cassville Chamber Banquet and bundled up and watched Christmas parades together. It was at one of those parades that we both realized there was definitely more to our relationship.

In January 2019, we were officially dating, in September 2019 we were engaged. At that point, I decided to pick up where I had left off in school. I started in January 2020 at Capella University, and in March, COVID-19 hit the world.

Our wedding was planned for October 2020, so there were a number of obstacles we were facing due to the pandemic, but I put my head down and completed 18 courses between January and December 2020. In November 2020, after a month of marriage, I found out we were pregnant. The challenges of that pregnancy forced me to take 2021 off from school.

At the start of 2022, we had married, had a baby, went through an adoption process for our oldest, I restarted my education journey, and Kyle and I were continuing to work side by side as reporter and editor.

For some, maybe even most people, that sort of dynamic would be difficult. Not only were we working together, living together and raising a family together — we were also boss and employee.

Fortunately, that has never been an issue in our relationship. If anything, there is a greater sense of empathy for what one another is doing. Kyle really picked up my slack at work as I was at home with our baby and our 6-year-old over summer break, also trying to finish school. I even started to cook dinner and do dishes, my least favorite responsibilities, as he was covering more and more events – especially during football season.

Last Tuesday, Kyle and I signed the contracts to purchase the Cassville Democrat, effective Jan. 1, 2023.

Today, I am finishing the last few days of this year’s journey at Capella University, where I completed 12 courses in 2022.

I have only 3 courses left until I graduate around May 2023.

I never thought my 30th year in this world would have turned out this way. My family is stronger than ever. I am about to earn a degree. I am a business owner.

For this week’s TroutMom advice, I’d have to say go for it. Apply for that job, represent yourself in how you dress, fall in love, and follow your dreams – you never know where that might lead you.

Jordan Troutman is the reporter for the Cassville Democrat, a wife, a mother of two daughters, and a student at Capella University majoring in Marriage and Family Therapy.

“For this week’s TroutMom advice,

I’d have to say go for it. Apply for that job, represent yourself in how you dress, fall in love, and follow your dreams – you never know where that might lead you.”