Retired Military Veteran Gives Up $82,000 Job to Restore and Create Home Furniture in Pennsylvania

Macungie, PA, September 20, 2017 --(PR.com)-- After 23 years in the United States Air Force as a Flight Engineer flying the C-130 Hercules, CJ Mahoney was tired of being away from his wife and three kids. Despite a profound respect for the military life from traveling, learning new cultures, and doing what he loved since he was a little boy, CJ was deployed often or separated from his family on temporary duties more times than he could count. So, after one last flight in 2014, CJ retired and started a new life in Pennsylvania.

For the first few years CJ worked a cold, hard shift as a Foreman at a local cement plant where the hours were long, the work was tough, and the people were tougher. Again, he was away from his family just as much as he was being in the military, and due to his military disabilities, the hours and work were draining him and his health. It was time to take a long hard look at what was truly important in his life and what he really wanted, so he left his $82,000 a year job and decided to focus more on enjoying his family and his life.

“It was a very difficult decision for us, but one that we believed was the right decision. I would much rather my husband come home without a job than to never come home at all,” said Kat Mahoney, CJ’s wife of 25 years. “We’ve supported each other from the moment he went in the military. We’ve supported each other through deployments, relocations, deaths, and even fighting Autism educational needs for our kids, so I knew we could manage, it was just going to be very tight.”

Even more so since Kat has not worked outside the home in almost 20 years due to CJ’s excessive deployments and their constant relocations, she had to stay home to raise her three Autistic children who are 17 months apart, while suffering from severe anxiety, Fibromyalgia, and vertigo spells herself. She only works at home as an author and occasional Technology Educator for Adults, so royalties and compensation is few and far between and not on a regular basis.

After buying their first home just a month prior, CJ and Kat still needed extra items for their teens and they wanted to make the new house feel like home, which meant furnishings, decor, and pictures. With a limited budget at hand, it wasn't the time to take out a loan or make large purchases, so CJ put his expert handyman skills to work and started restoring and refurbishing old furniture and items they had laying around the house. Then, after visiting a few yard sales, they both realized people were throwing out so much furniture just because it was chipped, dirty, or broken. That was a lot of trash and a lot of things other families could use.

CJ and Kat take pride in The Mosaic Dragonfly with the goal that creativity never goes out of style and anything can be renewed and reused. As a military Veteran family-owned business, The Mosaic Dragonfly was the opportunity CJ and Kat needed to enjoy life together as a family while helping the community with less trash and more home comforts.

To support CJ and Kat’s new venture, visit The Mosaic Dragonfly business website at www.themosaicdragonfly.com