A new job can bring stability—and still make you wonder whether you’ve made the right choice. In this candid episode, Tayler shares her first days at Chick-fil-A, a stressful run of family emergencies, and the tension between a steady paycheck and the freedom to show up for your children.
After years of relying on Lyft and Instacart for income, rising gas prices helped prompt a search for work closer to home and less dependent on a car. But a child’s school trouble, another child getting sick, and a late-night earache collided with the first days on the job. The experience sparked a bigger question: how can work make room for people’s humanity and family responsibilities?
Tayler reflects on faith, flexibility, and building a business with intention—while deciding to give this new season a chance. She also shares plans for the podcast and invites listeners to suggest topics and share their own stories.
Key Topics
[00:00:22] - Starting a new job—and immediately questioning the decision
[00:02:35] - Rising gas prices and the search for more dependable work
[00:05:52] - A difficult school day on the eve of the first shift
[00:10:34] - Family health emergencies during the first two days at work
[00:15:52] - Sorting through doubt, faith, and whether the job is the right move
[00:20:00] - Valuing flexibility and the ability to show up for family
[00:23:48] - Building a business intentionally and plans for the podcast
[00:26:46] - Listener stories, future topics, and a preview of next week’s episode
Takeaways
The first days of a new job can be overwhelming, especially when family needs don’t fit neatly around a work schedule. For now, Tayler is sticking with the position while building her business step by step—and holding onto the belief that people should be able to care for their families without risking their livelihoods.
No guest appears in this episode. Next week, the host plans to share lower-cost ways to find technology for personal and business use, including refurbished options.
[00:00:01] - [Tayler]
Hey y'all. Welcome back to the podcast. I have a quick question for you. Have you ever taken a job position and almost immediately regretted it and wanted to quit? Because with the way that my week went last week, that was what I was considering.
[00:00:22] - [Tayler]
I just took a new position and the day before my first day, my first day and then my second day, it was insane. I strongly considered quitting even though I had just started. And then gas jumped back up to $4.39 and I said, you know what, I think I can make this work. Okay, so I recently took a new position. I I work at Chick fil A now.
[00:01:04] - [Tayler]
This is the first time that I've ever worked fully in a fast food restaurant. I worked at Culver's for, a month, many years ago. I think what happened was literally right when I got hired, I got sick for like two weeks and then they essentially rehired me. And it was also when it was like October, November ish and it was really cold. I was in school at the time.
[00:01:28] - [Tayler]
It was a lot. I had my oldest son, he was still really little at the time. So doing all the things, it was just a lot. So I only worked there for like a month before I was like, look, I can't balance all this because I'm getting sick from lack of sleep, I'm stressed from trying to get homework done and I'm trying to take care of this little baby. For me it was just a lot, it was a lot.
[00:01:58] - [Tayler]
Now fast forward to now. When I was starting to realize that you know because I've been doing Lyft and Instacart full time for many many years now, I think about seven years now. Those were my primary jobs. I have had a couple of part time jobs here and there. I worked at PetSmart at one point, I worked at Kwik Trip for a little bit in between, but it never worked out because of childcare and scheduling.
[00:02:35] - [Tayler]
So this time around, you know, when gas jumped up to $4.39 the first time, like a month ago or so, and then I started to realize that I wasn't really taking anything home. You know, I would go out and work, kill my gas and that would almost immediately have to go right in my tank. And it's like, okay, I'm working to keep gas in my tank so I can work, but I'm not able to do anything else. Got it. So I started strongly considering and looking around for potential jobs that I could promise, not promise, but you know that could provide a steady paycheck and I wanted something that was close by and didn't require a vehicle.
[00:03:32] - [Tayler]
Because for me it's always, it's not just scheduling, it's also location because I've had car problems in the past. My journey, I had issues with that and my Ultima before that, like I've had car issues in the past that led to me not being able to work. Now granted it's mostly because I was driving for work, but even when I was babysitting a couple of years ago, my car messed up and I had to call this woman and let her know like, hey, my car is... I think it was either the... It wasn't smoking.
[00:04:17] - [Tayler]
I don't think it was smoking. It's the... Yeah, it kept overheating. It... My car at the time when I had my Dodge Journey, it kept overheating and I was concerned.
[00:04:27] - [Tayler]
So I was able to get home, but I didn't know why it was doing that. And I had to call her and ask her, you know, I had to call her head time and let her know what was going on. She got off work early to come get her son. You know, she was very understanding. She was very nice.
[00:04:42] - [Tayler]
I genuinely appreciate her. I love her. She was so sweet. But, know, things like that have always been in the back of my mind is I don't want to work a job or a business that is heavily dependent on my car working because I've just like, I've had too many issues in the past. So long story short, I don't know why I randomly chose Chick fil A because there's other options in the area that are considered.
[00:05:17] - [Tayler]
But I chose Chick fil A. I applied and I ended up calling them because their proposed or their scheduled interview times didn't work for me. And I reconsidered it because at first when I saw the scheduled terms, was like, yeah, it probably means it's not meant to be and then gas jumped up again and I was like, okay. And I was like, you know what? I'm gonna at least go interview, you know, worst thing they could tell me is no because they still got a, you know, was like, it's just a conversation, it's fine.
[00:05:52] - [Tayler]
So I get the job and I have a couple of training days. The day before I am supposed to start work, my very first day, my sweet little thug child gets in trouble at school and gets in trouble to the point where I have to go up there. That's how bad it was, I had to go up there. Eventually, I get him calm down. I get him to understand what he, you know, his behavior was not okay.
[00:06:24] - [Tayler]
And I'm like, okay, he might be able to finish up that. Cool. And then I find out from the office admin that his teacher said he's not going to be able to go to recess when he finishes his food and I'm like, oh no. So I stick around because I know my child, I know him very well And unfortunately, I was right to stick around because he was uncooperative. He was whining, he was crying, he was hollering, he couldn't understand that his actions and his behavior had led to him not getting recess.
[00:07:06] - [Tayler]
And that he was not connecting the dots. And that was all he was focused on was the fact that he wanted to go to recess. And I'm like, baby, when you do things like this, when you make bad choice... When you make these choices, there are consequences. Just like how at home, if you don't have a good day or you make bad choices, you don't get game time.
[00:07:28] - [Tayler]
Like, it's the same thing. And he just was not understanding me. And I... They... If I had left, I knew if I had left, they would have just had called me again.
[00:07:40] - [Tayler]
So I stuck around. And I was there for an hour, An hour. I was there for an hour. I was there for a freaking hour. Before it gets to the point where I said, you know what?
[00:07:57] - [Tayler]
I'm not going to continue standing up here while you cry and whine and are uncooperative and just loud and disruptive. I'm not doing it. We're going to have to go home. So I ended up taking him out of school. I think it was like an hour or so early taking him home and we immediately put him to work.
[00:08:19] - [Tayler]
It's like, okay, go ahead clean your room. Since you want to act up in school, go ahead and clean your room. So that was his punishment. And then it's just, again this is the day before I'm supposed to start my first day at work. So in my mind, I'm immediately like how is this going to work?
[00:08:43] - [Tayler]
Because I can't just be leaving work and staying up at school for an hour because he want to act like food. I'm like, how's this supposed to work? I was really considering telling them that you know, due to circumstances I'm unfortunately not going to be able to take the position or I'm not going to be able to move forward. That I was seriously considering it. But, you know, I was reminded that I gotta work.
[00:09:19] - [Tayler]
I gotta work. I gotta work one way or another. So I was like, okay, whatever. Then the next day, after my first day of work, you know, my body was hurting. My shoulders was hurting.
[00:09:33] - [Tayler]
My feet was hurting. My legs was hurting. Everything's hurting. Was like, I never go. Like it was busy like I expected.
[00:09:44] - [Tayler]
I thank God that, you know, our customers are really amazing. They're so sweet, they're so understanding. You know, everyone was really nice. And I also appreciate the fact that my coworkers are also really great people. We all look out for each other.
[00:10:00] - [Tayler]
And I really, I was surprised at the positive environment that Chick fil A had. Like, between the mission, the core mission of the company, but also the mission of the owner of this location. I was surprised and it was part of the thing that really inspired me to take the position because it was so positive. The energy was positive, everyone's really helpful, really understanding. So I'm like okay, know, I'm gonna try this out.
[00:10:34] - [Tayler]
You know, after my first day, I'm literally putting on my hoodie to go home. I get a call from the school nurse. Same, same little thug. Hey, this is the school nurse. He just threw up.
[00:10:49] - [Tayler]
Oh, okay. Got it. I'm on my way. And this was like three minutes before they left school. So it's like, oh, hey, do you want brother to stick around?
[00:11:01] - [Tayler]
And I'm like, yeah, that's fine because by the time I get there, it's probably gonna be dismissal anyway. So go home. I got to get the little ones ready and get them in the car because my mom's clocked out for the day and get to school to go get my babies, bring them home. And my poor baby ends up throwing up three more times that... Throughout that entire evening.
[00:11:27] - [Tayler]
So four times in total that day. I was very concerned. And then I was just sitting there thinking to myself, now if you're probably aware that, you know, when they when they throw up, have a fever, diarrhea, and all that, what is it? You gotta... They gotta stay out of school for twenty four hours.
[00:11:46] - [Tayler]
So since he... This happened right at the end of school, he ain't going to school the next day. So I'm like okay. And then the next day, 01:30 in the morning, my oldest comes to me and he's like mom my left ear hurts really bad and I'm like okay, gotcha. I gave him some pain medicine.
[00:12:08] - [Tayler]
I assumed it was an ear infection. So I gave him some pain medicine to help with the pain. I dealt with something similar last year, although my doctor didn't find an ear infection. She said I'm not seeing one, but based on what you're describing there might be one developing. So she gave me the medicine and you know after taking it, it helped.
[00:12:29] - [Tayler]
Thank God because I was in so much pain. So I give him some pain, some kids pain medicine. I give him a warm washcloth to put over his ear. He says it helps. A little while later, know, he's multiple times later he's asking for, you know, it's not helping anymore.
[00:12:49] - [Tayler]
I'm like, okay. He falls asleep a couple of times and then later he's like, mom, my ear hurts even more and he's like clearly in more pain. So I'm like, okay, go sit on the couch and let me figure something out. And again, this is like, this is between 01:30 and six in the morning on my second day that I'm supposed to work. I'm like and I if you've ever take had to take your kid to the hospital or to the urgent care or anything like that, you know you can't guarantee how long it's going to take.
[00:13:25] - [Tayler]
So I'm sitting here thinking because I've also had experiences where I've been up there for hours. Hours. So I'm sitting here thinking to myself like okay, how is this going to work? Because I'm supposed to work. How's this going to work?
[00:13:43] - [Tayler]
And I'm like, I'm getting dressed. I get dressed and I'm about to have him put on his socks and shoes. My baby then fell asleep on the couch. I'm like, okay. And he's already had a rough night, you know, with all the pain he's been in.
[00:13:54] - [Tayler]
So I'm like, I'm just gonna leave him alone and we'll figure it out in the morning. You know, he wakes up and he's like, Marlo, I feel so much better. You know, it's just there's a bubble in my ear. There's a what? Baby, there's a what?
[00:14:08] - [Tayler]
And then he's like, I don't know how to explain it. I was like, does it sound like you're talking with headphones on? He's like, that's exactly how it sounds. I'm like, uh-huh, yeah, you still need to go to the doctor and you know everybody's busy. Oh, also this exact same day.
[00:14:26] - [Tayler]
No, I'm sorry, not this day. The day before when my other son had thrown up my wild card, my third baby, His facility had sent me a message saying they did, they couldn't service him that day because they didn't have the staffing. So that was another thing that had to do with. Okay, back to the present. He's like, I feel better and I'm like, yeah, you still need to go to the doctor, I have to work literally in like two hours and I'm like, how am I going to figure this out?
[00:15:00] - [Tayler]
There's not enough time for me to take him to his doctor's office, there's not enough time to figure this out. My mom has, you know, my itty bitty baby for me, you know, she's got kids for the day for me and my husband has stuff to do that day. I tried calling his dad and I couldn't reach him because of how early in the day it was, so I didn't and then I was able to reach him later and I'm like, hey, can you take him for me? And because he was like, oh, I feel much better, I'm like, okay, I'm gonna have you stay home because my concern was I don't want I'm like, I want to get him to the doctor as soon as possible because I know that at some point that pain is going to kick back in if we don't get this taken care of. I am not trying to brush this off.
[00:15:52] - [Tayler]
So I'm literally like bro, oh my gosh, like how is this supposed to work? I, when I tell you I was literally sitting there thinking like, I'm like, God, are you trying to tell me something? Was I not supposed to do this? You know, like that was how I was feeling. I'm like, was I not supposed to take this job?
[00:16:16] - [Tayler]
And at the same time it was like, okay, or is this a spiritual attack? Is the enemy, is the devil trying to get me to leave this position? Is this where I'm supposed to be right now? And he's trying to discourage me, you know? So I, you know, if you're a believer, I did not know.
[00:16:37] - [Tayler]
I was like, I don't know what, what I'm supposed to know right now. So I was just like, oh my stars, this is, this is a lot. And you know, now through the weekend he's, you know, he was feeling better. He still wanted to go to his sports club and all that and his dad took him for me, you know. So he's gotten his medicine and all that.
[00:17:03] - [Tayler]
So I'm so glad that that's been resolved because I knew he had to go to the doctor and unfortunately I was right. He had an ear infection, my poor baby. So I'm like, okay, glad that now that's been resolved. He's got some medicine. Now we have a way to move forward.
[00:17:20] - [Tayler]
When I tell you them first two days. It's like I said, my immediate first thought was like I regret taking this job. I regret doing this because now I have to be, I'm expected to be somewhere and I'm expected to stay there for multiple hours even on days where my kids need me or on days where I'm not feeling well. And I'm not necessarily meaning sick, but like you know body in pain or just kind of out of it, you know things like that. I'm not necessarily meaning like physically sick because I think one of their, I think one of their things is like if you're sick don't come to work.
[00:18:02] - [Tayler]
You know, they really, they're really intentional about the quality of the food and you know making sure that you know the experience is positive. I really admire that. So sorry, didn't mean to go off on a tangent, but I literally just was sitting there thinking like this is why I've always wanted to work for myself and this is why because I want to be able to show up for my kids or my family when I need it. If I need to take a day I want to be able to take a day. So I don't, I don't, I still don't know because I don't know.
[00:18:47] - [Tayler]
I don't know if God was telling me like you weren't supposed to do this or this is not where I intend to have you, but at the same time I'm also wondering if it was a spiritual attack. Wow, okay. Wow, I am wondering if it was a spiritual attack. There we go. I'm wondering if it was a spiritual attack and it was to show me something.
[00:19:16] - [Tayler]
Not to discourage me, not to tell me, hey, you're not supposed to be here but more like to show me something because my immediate feelings were regret for taking the position. I hated that feeling of being trapped. I have felt that feeling for most of my life and I hate that feeling that it's such a... I don't like the feeling of being trapped somewhere. And that was how I was feeling because I'm over here stressed about if my kids are okay and I want to make sure that I want to be able to see them and take care of them, you know.
[00:19:48] - [Tayler]
I don't want to have to get the updates an hour after something's happened, You know that was just how I was feeling, was just really stressed about it just to be transparent you know. But I'm gonna, you know, I'm gonna stick this out for a while and the other reason why I think it was a spiritual attack, I apologize, is because I was feeling way more focused on my business and I was able to articulate my foundations and my mission and things way more clearer than prior or than I was before. It felt a lot easier to answer the questions that I had been trying to pull out of my own brain for the longest. So it feels like this is a season, you know, I don't I don't have the pressure of having to go out and drive for work and then of course gas jumped up again 04:39 and I was like you know what Chick fil A ain't so bad. I was like it's not so bad.
[00:21:00] - [Tayler]
So I decided you know for now this is the season that I'm in and we are going to ride it till the wheels fall off. That's what I'm going do. I realized just in those first few days that I really value my freedom and I value being able to show up when I'm needed. I also believe that more people should have the same power in themselves. They should have the power to show up when they're needed, show up for themselves, show up for their families, show up for their loved ones when they're needed without having to climb the corporate ladder and earn the right to be human because that's what I feel like it is.
[00:21:45] - [Tayler]
It, that's what it feels like to me when a job puts profit and showing up in attendance over, over someone's humanity. And I know some jobs are better than others. I know there are some leaders out there who are understanding who are like, hey take all the time you need, but there are also some that are not. There are some that are like, work is work and you got to come to work. But it shouldn't be like that.
[00:22:16] - [Tayler]
You should not have to climb the corporate ladder to be entitled to being able to take the time off that you need to take care of your family or to show up for your family especially if you are dedicated to the business and to your work and getting the work done. I never understood how someone could complain because I actually I know someone who is very efficient in their work. They get things done way ahead of time in order to give themselves a bit more flexible schedule and their boss complains about it. And I'm like that is wild to me. How are you going to complain that the work is getting done?
[00:22:58] - [Tayler]
But the work is getting done and it's getting done ahead of time and it's getting done efficiently. So what if they leave early? The work is done and again it's being done one ahead of time and efficiently. Like when I tell you they are on top of it, I just look at it and I'm just like, I admire you and I have no idea how you do it because I would be stressed. But yeah, I just, you know, with certain careers, certain career paths, it's like, if the work is done, I don't understand why a leader would have a problem with an employee leaving early or if someone's sick or if their kid or their parent needs to be taken care of.
[00:23:48] - [Tayler]
I don't understand why it would be an issue. I haven't had that issue so far, just want to clear that up. I have not had that issue so far, it's just been the stuff that's been stressing me in the back of my mind. But yeah, I feel like this is a season of where I'm supposed to be right now while I build intentionally on the back end. Because as I said, we should all have the power to choose our schedules, choose our lives without having to sacrifice or risk our livelihoods, without having to risk being put out on the street, without having to risk being able to put food on our tables.
[00:24:34] - [Tayler]
We shouldn't... That should not be the handoff. So I am diving into my business to build the foundation intentionally brick by brick. I'm going to be rearranging a few things with my podcast as well and just doing my best to provide best value as well as finding intentional guests to come on the show that can bring value to moms, to entrepreneurs, to family businesses, to you. Just in general, it doesn't matter where, what walk of life you come from.
[00:25:28] - [Tayler]
If you resonate with the message that I am working towards with this podcast with my business then I love having you here and I appreciate you so much for listening and tuning in. I recently got the notification that my podcast had hit 750 downloads and I was amazed. I was like 750? What? I was like, I was like, y'all actually like listening to my ramblings.
[00:26:01] - [Tayler]
But I think I'm gonna wrap it up there. Yeah, there's gonna be some changes coming gradually, rolling things out. And so gonna be arranging some- be rearranging some things and gonna be rolling some new things out trying to set things up so that way I can not just talk at you, not just talk to you, but I would love for you guys to talk to me back. So I'm looking into some things that will allow you to do more than just leave a review. I love, I really would love to hear from you as the listener about any topics that you want to hear from me.
[00:26:46] - [Tayler]
Anything you want to hear on the podcast, any questions you have, any just anything. Talking about parenthood, sharing your story, your journey, talking about entrepreneurship, sharing your story, your journey, anything, anything. Honestly, I want to hear from you. Now, make sure that you don't miss next week's episode because I am going to share a resource. Well, I am going to share a few different ways that you can find tech for your personal life and your business life at a low cost, whether it's refurbished or whether it's, you know a different resource.
[00:27:34] - [Tayler]
But make sure you tune in for next week's episode because that's what we're going be talking about. We're getting into holiday season so I imagine that nobody wants to go spend $5,000 on a new laptop if they don't have to. So I'm going to share with you one of my favorite resources and also tell you about some other tools and programs that I'm aware of that you could potentially take advantage of for your business. But until next time, I'll see you later. Bye.