My wife relocated to the US to live with me a year ago. It took her that much time to finally land a job. Mind you, she knew what she got herself into. Before the relocation, I told her in advance that it could take months for our immigration paperwork to come through and for her to receive work authorization. I just didn’t know exactly how it would take. A few months after arrival, she was finally legally allowed to work. Then came the job search. It was not a good timing. Omaha is not a big job market littered with graphic design jobs. Companies are leaning towards back-to-the-office more than remote. Even those that hire remote workers don’t often include Nebraska on the list.

It was not an easy experience.

We tried a lot of things. As a designer, she obviously made sure her portfolio was up-to-date and looked the best it could. My wife also created a new resume and a work sample deck for easier delivery and in case recruiters don’t like to click on links. Nothing worked. I told her to keep thinking outside the box and to keep pushing because it would come. We intensified the efforts. For a while, I spent 30-60 mins a day helping her curate job ads while she worked on the applications. We even paid for LinkedIn Premium and sent cold messages to people. I am not going to lie: it was hard at times. I could see in some moments that my wife was disappointed. I tried reassuring her that unlike many, she didn’t have a clock on her head to find a job in 60 days and she had me supporting her financially.

Almost 5 months after receiving work authorization, my wife secured a job offer. It’s a humble start, but everyone has to start somewhere. I didn’t expect that it would take a year for her to start working. Neither did my wife, I suspect. I am proud of the efforts we put in. There were days when we felt discouraged, but we marched on with sheer belief that hard work would pay off one day. Luckily for us, it did.

My wife and I try to put in at least an hour of workout every day. Seeing how our parents and grandparents back home struggle with health issues at old age terrifies us. We want to live with each other as long as possible, but we also don’t want to have miserable days. Hence, it’s imperative that we start taking care of our health and body TODAY. But it’s not easy. There are days when the motivation is low or when we are occupied with other commitments (watching a new movie/a new series, baking or meeting friends). Deep down, I understand that it’s hard for us to stay motivated, knowing that the fruits of our labor may only come when we are old, if they come at all. You see, all the work we put forth will earn us a chance, just a chance, to live comfortably later. We have that belief. We just don’t know when or whether it will come true. Sometimes such belief is challenging to embrace.

We had a long talk yesterday about work and life. I told my wife that one of the most difficult challenges was to know that you have to put in the work, not knowing when the reward will come. It’s everywhere in our life. Some people try to be worthy of their dream partners but struggle to actually find and be with such partners. Some labor in behind-the-scene training and work for years and may not even taste success. Investors who believe in the power of compounding can only reap the rewards, if any, after a long time.

You see, time is not something we can get back. At the age of 60 or whatever, when you wish that you had exercised more in youth, that you had invested earlier or that you had done something, there is absolutely nothing you can to retrieve that time.

Like they always say: the best time to start was yesterday. The second best time is now.

I am glad that my wife and I learned it as adults and it’s something I want to teach my future kids.