A New Beginning

Well, as of Friday, July 6th, I am no longer a woman among the working class. It's still a bit strange and I know it will take time for it to really sink in that I no longer work, but it really is for the best. How did this all start? Why am I now unemployed after elven and one half years of being with the same company?

It all started the evening of Sunday, June 17th. We were all getting ready to go back to work/camp on Monday after being on vacation for one week. It was 7:30 in the evening and I was busily working through the emails that had built up during my time off. I felt awful! Who works on a Sunday and, for that matter, who works during their vacation time? I knew I had to, because coming into my system on a Monday morning at 6:00am with all of those messages would have sent me over the edge.

Periodically, hubby would ask me,

"Are you almost done," to which I would reply with a defeated,

"No...I still have a few more." 

I finally whittled the messages down to a manageable number when I had an epiphany; "What if I turn in my resignation, tomorrow," I asked my hubby. What does he do? He laughs. Not a hardy "ha ha" but more of a chuckle. His reaction was somewhat shocking, so I asked him why he was laughing.

"Honey, I was just waiting for you." Eureka! Confirmation! My hubby is the greatest...truly! Together, we whipped together my resignation letter (which provided my company three weeks worth of notice and an open door to offer me other opportunities), then planned the time in which I would submit said letter. It was amazing! It felt as if an elephant had leaped off my shoulders. The expression, "You don't know how badly you feel, until you start feeling better," certainly applied here. Monday morning couldn't arrive fast enough.

At 9:00am, I emailed my resignation to my manager. At 9:30am MST, we met as a team for our online meeting. One of teammates boldly announces that he's submitted his two week notice and his last day will be June 30th. Seriously! He and I talked later that morning and he had a new position all lined up. I know that, although he wasn't as forthcoming as I would have liked him to be, he really was dissatisfied with the way our positions had changed.

The search for a new job has been going on for months with no responses. Full-time work is readily available, but trying to find a part-time job with the specific hours I want is much trickier. I am very hopeful that a window will open with just the right job. For now, I'm going to focus my attention on my family as well as I myself (I regained all my weight back, due to the enormous amount of stress I was dealing with).

Some parting thoughts before I relax with a glass of wine for the evening: I do not regret leaving my job. The metrics that were used to rate my ability were completely ridiculous. If my students have to withdraw, due to crisis, I should not be held accountable. If they cannot finish their entire term due to personal issues, how on earth is that something that I can control? My students are people, not numbers. They are adults doing the best they can with what they have. Some of them were truly amazing and I'm glad to call them my friends.

My life is on a new path and I'm ready to face this new adventure. Not even the slightest bit nervous about it! The rationale? It's obvious to me that it's the right thing to do. I'm so happy and I'm confident that my life is headed for great things. Keep moving forward!