Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Job search update

[TODAY'S UPDATE IS UNRELATED TO INFERTILITY]

I found a new job.  I start Tuesday, the day after Labor Day.  So I will end up being out of work just a little over two weeks.  (And when taking into account the fact that I was paid for my unused vacation hours from the job I left, I actually only missed out on a little more than three days of pay, including the Labor Day holiday.)

My new job is at a small-ish, growing private law firm located a 20-minute drive from my house.  The firm opened two years ago with five attorneys who left a larger, long-established local insurance defense firm and in that time has grown to thirty attorneys in ten offices, with the main office the one in Sco.ttsd.ale where I will be working.  They seem to have a firm base of business and a lot of work, and they say they are happy to get someone with my qualifications (not only my legal experience, but my nursing background).

For my part, I am very relieved to have a job again.  I am not overjoyed at the return to working longer hours that will accompany returning to private practice, but I will make it work.  I *am* happy about the pay raise that comes along with returning to private practice.

Now I'm going to try to make the most of the three days off I have left before the weekend and a return to normalcy next week.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Adjustment and loss

[TODAY'S POST MENTIONS CHILDREN AND IS COMPLETELY UNRELATED TO INFERTILITY]

It's August 21st, and I have yet to post this month, so I am overdue for an update here.

In follow-up to my last post, the boys have adjusted to day care.  MJ actually ended up having a harder time with the adjustment than AJ, surprising both MM and me.  AJ was OK at drop-off by the second day, whereas MJ was still crying and clinging to me, as well as hiding in his room at home before leaving the house, as late as the start of the second week, poor thing.  But by midway through the second week, he was OK.

MM and I are happy with the center and glad we made the change.  They both seem to be enjoying themselves when we have gone there and observed them surreptitiously.  They are happy to see us at pick-up and in the evenings and talk excitedly about their day.

In other news, last Friday, I was let go from my job unexpectedly.  I was hired there on a probationary status for the first year, as is customary, and I had expected to be kept on as a permanent employee when I completed that first year.  Instead, I was told that I was being let go, with no notice and no explanation.

Needless to say, this development came as a shock and has left me at loose ends.  I am now looking for another job at a time when I did not expect to be, and I am under some financial pressure to find one quickly.

I began my job search in earnest almost immediately (by Sunday night, I had applied for five jobs), and I already have an interview lined up for next Tuesday, as well as several other applications pending.  I hope and pray that I am working again soon.

I won't say I wasn't upset about losing my job, but at one time, something like this would have absolutely devastated me.  Although the pressure to bring in an income is greater now than it was before I had children, at the same time, having my sons makes me realize that I am more than just my career. 

Losing a job is absolutely not the worst thing that could have happened to me.  I have my sons, my husband and my family.  I have good friends who have been wonderful, checking in on me and helping with job leads.  I have my health, and eventually things will work out.

Meanwhile, I am trying to keep my spirits up and take advantage of the unexpected free time to accomplish some back-burnered projects at home (like cleaning out the garage and finishing the boys' baby books).  We have kept the boys in day care--with financial assistance from my inlaws--because we didn't want to uproot them after they had just gotten settled, only to have to re-enroll them, perhaps even in another center, once I am working again.

Apart from the fact that the boys have brought home two illness in their less-than-30-days in day care--one nasty GI virus and a miserable summer cold--there isn't much else to report.  AJ and MJ are growing and thriving, and their happiness and welfare is our primary concern.

Life is just full of unexpected turns.  Thirty days ago, I never could have anticipated that things would be as they are today.

Let's hope that in another thirty days, I will once again be moving in a positive direction professionally.