Would you take a pay cut to keep your team together?

Today was an exciting day for those who live in Washington. The Super Bowl Champs came home to their victory parade, and rally. Many wondered what that would look like, and many were caught off guard when at least 700,000 people filed in to downtown Seattle. Watching it on T.V. I thought there was something remarkably quaint and cozy about the entire thing. There were no barricades (700,000 people and no barricades) there was no ticker tape, there was no opulence. Just a team riding on Ducks (these really cool land/water vehicles). During the broadcast they made it very clear that many of the high payed players were willingly taking pay cuts this coming year in order to give the lower payed players a raise. They wanted to keep the team together, and they felt that taking a pay cut would ensure keeping all of the players together. How crazy cool is that? What NFL team has been able to say that coming out of a Super Bowl win they were able to keep their players, and some of their big earning players would be taking a pay cut. Isn't it normally the other way around? Aren't they normally demanding more money?

It really made me think. If you worked for a company that had an amazing year (in regards to revenue) and you had a large part in helping the company achieve it, would you voluntarily say to the CEO, you know, instead of giving me a raise why don't you give it to someone else that might really need it.

Then it hit me... A year and a half ago, I was forced into that decision. You see a year and a half ago is when we were given less than 12 hours to decide if we would let Ademan into our home. You are probably wondering about the raise/pay cut comparison... Well you see, at that point our girls were 30 months and 33 months old, so almost 3. They were starting to be independent and I was starting to have a bit more free time. The burden was not as great, and I was enjoying it. Almost like a pay raise, because a raise is a reward for putting in time and energy. So my reward at that point was me being able to finally catch my breath. Then I was forced into a decision about keeping a family together. (Kind of like a team). Was I willing to make that sacrifice (pay cut) in order to keep/put a family together. Was I willing to forgo my raise in order to have baby brother stay with us. My answer was yes.  Lets get real, kids are expensive, so yes there was technically a pay cut. My husbands salary now had to accommodate one more dependent. We were willing to do it, because I believe the end reward is worth it. We might not have a Lombardi Trophy sitting on our fireplace mantle, but I do have three little trophies that call me mom. I know when they are adults I will not remember the sacrifices I made, in order to make their lives better. I will not remember that I could no longer afford mani / pedis, I will not remember that I had to get my hair done every 10 weeks as oppose to every 6 weeks, I will not remember that I was shopping at Walmart and Thrift Stores for clothes as oppose to boutiques. I will remember milestones, feeding tube removals, potty training in two days, Christmas musicals at school, tender moments between sisters and brother. That is what makes me proud.

Those Seahawks players should be proud. They are making decisions that we can all relate to. They are not (yet) "celebrity" athletes struggling over decisions that don't mean a thing like should I buy the Lamborghini or the Maserati? Don't get me wrong if someone works hard, I believe they can do whatever they want with their money. What I am saying is that it is just refreshing to see them behaving and making decisions that will have a positive affect on others. Way to go boys!