Beginnings and Endings

I only have two more "work" days before I return to my old job.

I think I have run the gamut of emotions when it comes to this, especially when I think about everything that has transpired over the last eighteen months.  The good, the bad, and the really UGLY.

This has been a great learning experience for me - the things I wanted to be able to put on my resume, I now can.  I am hoping that eventually this allows me to take the next step in my career, whatever that looks like.  It feels like it has been really hard won at times.  This has not been an easy time.  When I look back over 2013, it is a real blur of experiences.  It feels like a year that I almost wish I could have a do-over for.  In that same breath, it was an incredible learning experience too, both personally and professional.  I also turned 40. I would not go so far as to say I had a midlife crisis, but it was an anticlimatic year, and I kind of shake my head a bit when I reflect over how it evolved.

I think I was a little crispy around the edges from a bit of everything for most of the year.  I can't say that anything was truly terrible, not was anything absolutely amazing.  There were some great moments along the way (like our trip to Olympia). It was a year that just was, in my books.  I started some things that I think will pay off in the long run - kids are happier now in school and care, I am jogging, I am making some better food choices, and I am grabbing control back for our finances, trying to just have a bit better balance.  I know as I write this post I am drinking from the "half-full cup".  I do try to see the positive, and I choose to find the silver linings rather than dwell on the negative. 

I leave this position and return to my old position a little more open, and a little more ready for whatever is next.  Our kids are a little older.  I am also getting better sleeps.  The jogging also helps heaps, even if I don't always get out and hit the pavement.  That hour on the weekend when I just get out and go, is great for both my head and my body.  This is something I have learned to enjoy more than I ever thought I would.  It helps my coworkers are really looking forward to welcoming me back.  Being wanted changes everything.  I am keeping an eye out on the postings here.  I may be picky at what could be next, but I think that it is a healthy attitude to have.  To be open to making a change, or a leap of faith and see where it takes me.  I was not there a year ago.