It’s been a whirlwind of a week. Not what I’d expected, but pleasantly refreshing. This was the first week after holidays and that time of year when we’ve historically just been thrust back into normal life. And I always kind of dread this week. I get the post-holiday winter blues.
I was doing okay all through last weekend, and even early on Monday morning. I didn’t make it sad. But when the buzzer went off at 8:00 a.m. and it was finally time to go back to normal, I sat at my desk and then it hit me. I dreaded going back to work. I just didn’t want to do it. I wasn’t motivated. I wasn’t inspired. I didn’t want to be there anymore. I felt like I didn’t belong there, doing that job. It was 8:04 a.m. and I was already depressed.
I knew I had just just start doing something to make progress in figuring out what I was going to do next. I decided I’d just start the slow and arduous job of looking for a job, sending out resumes, maybe get some interviews, and just see where my journey takes me. But in my heart of hearts I knew that the standard job search wasn’t going to work. So, for grins, I went to our neighborhood’s “job board” Facebook group and saw a post from back in early September. A neighbor was looking for a Director of Operations to manage their business. So I sent her a message. I knew it was a long shot since her post was four months old. As luck would have it, she messaged me back, told me that they’d hired someone for the role, and his start date was supposed to be that very day, but he no-showed. She asked me to send her my resume, so I obliged. She then asked if I’d be able to come in for an interview that week. I gave her my availability, so we settled on an interview the next morning at 10:00 a.m. By 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday I had a job offer. I put in my resignation with my current company at 3:00 p.m.
I’m so excited about this new job. It’s just too much to list here, but it’s like life has come full circle. I used to do a similar job in another life 20 years ago. I’d lucked into that job by way of being a dedicated and trustworthy employee. My boss promoted me and taught me how to run the business, and I like to think I did a good job at it. I loved that job. I got to make decisions, I got to be creative, I got to be a servant leader, I got to build relationship, I got to learn every day, I got my ass kicked and I got back up. But that company was sold, and my team and I weren’t part of the acquisition. I lost that job. So that lead me down a long and different career path that, if I’m being honest, a lot of it hasn’t been as fulfilling.
So, long story short, my week and upcoming months that I was set to dread turned into a fast and furious and amazing change for the good, and I’m really, really excited about it.
Maly went back up to Charleston past Saturday. She was dreading it (to a degree). The first day of school was canceled because of snow and ice. She doesn’t have classes on Tuesdays or Thursdays, so her first day of class was on Wednesday. After my good luck on Tuesday and Wednesday, I sent her a text message to see how life and classes had been. She said it was a good day. That made my day that much better.
It’s high time we have a series of fortunate events.