Wednesday, March 22, 2006

The Old and the Jacketless

This morning, I was over halfway into work when I realized I had forgotten my jacket. I can't believe I forgot my jacket. It's barely spring, still right smack in the middle of jacket-needing weather, and I forgot my jacket! What an airhead.

And now, from the category of "I Just Can't Take It Anymore": Last night, I told my boss I want to quit my full time job in a few months. His reaction? "Shit." Which, awww, how sweet!

This wasn't an easy decision to reach. There are so many positive things about working here: I like my job; my coworkers and I work well together and like each other, so much so that we have been going to lunch together once per month for a year voluntarily; I have great health benefits; three weeks of vacation time; great pay that affords an indulgence in yarn, shoes, and wine; and more often than not I really like the work I do. The work here consists of a wide variety of projects. My boss is a combination of a shield from management bullshit while also being a hands-off, non-micromanaging supervisor who will work out conflicting deadlines so you don't have to be the bad guy. There is no ego in our group, no office politics or jealousy; just goofy, somewhat technical-minded, intelligent, creative people of high integrity, working independently. You can see why I have to get the heck out of here!

It's amazingly hard to think about leaving. But, life keeps whispering to me that I need more time and has given me a way to have that time. It's about give and take. In order to get more time, I need to give up something. By giving up something, I move on to something else, which will include days and days of free time with my daughter. We can go to the park! We can go to the library! We can do all those cool activities that are only scheduled during the week so that working parents like me couldn't go to because of all the working. It's time to make a change.

I think my daughter deserves a break after five solid years of 8.5 hours a day five days a week away from me. It'll be nice to be together for a change.

We have so much to look forward to, in addition to the library and the park. How will it feel to just let the days unfold, to not plan ahead but see what we feel like doing each day? We can have the luxury of go ing to new places and discovering new things we might not have otherwise discovered in our usual rush.

Life is smart, knowing when to push and then push harder when I don't listen the first time when it's time to make a change. Life will take care of us. Life is good.

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