As some of you know, I’m in a new place these days—not physically. Still sitting here at the same desk in the same office in the same house (and quite content in that sense, so no worries there). But I did leave my day job of nearly ten years and for the first time since 1996, I don’t have a place to go or a place to be 35 hours of each week. When this happened in the summer of 1996, it was…not good. I found myself spiraling into a place of unhappy things. I lost all sense of purpose and had no idea how to fill my days. I thought that endless days of reading and watching TV would be awesome. Spoiler alert: they weren’t.
I am so very happy so say: this is not that.
In fact, I am enjoying these unstructured days quite a lot. At the same time, they are certainly not empty. I have been spending a lot of time volunteering at a local public school, the mission of which is sustainability. I have become more politically active—learning more about the way government actually works and what I can do to help get us back on a course of a beautiful future for my children. (‘Cause lord knows, there are a lot of state legislatures that are doing everything they possibly can to remove any hope of that.) Actually doing those things, like calling my representatives and donating my time and talents to the organizations that are working to protect women’s rights and bodily autonomy, to promote sustainability and reverse climate change, and to end gun violence. And I am finally writing again. (Case in point, my first post in almost three years.)
This is not to say that I’m not currently in search of a new day job. But I also have the incredible privilege of having a husband and family (both blood-related and ‘found’) supporting me on this next step. I am beyond grateful for that fact and am working to ensure that my next job will be one that is a part of the future I hope to see.
My plan is for this to be the first in more regular posts., whether it’s about my writing, my family, my job search, or just some random thoughts. One thing I’ve learned over the past few years, however, is that this is not a place where I will be stressing. So if you don’t hear from me again right away, don’t worry. I’ll be back. And I hope you will be too.