News in my world

1. The new job is going great. Thanks to all of you who've asked or wondered. My boss is largely uninvolved in my day-to-day activities which I'm taking as a sign of trust that I'm competent to get it all figured out and done. I'm making friends, mostly with the legal assistants who are consistently here and at their desks when I pass by or take a lunch break. I'd like to see the attorneys more but their schedules are in flux and that's more challenging as they often don't eat in. I L-O-V-E the feel of being downtown. The buzz, the activity, the vibrancy of people and things happening all around me. Jim and I are also carpooling several times a week which is nice.
2. Chris is talking so much more lately. One thing I'd like to note that he does is say the sound of an item versus it's actual name. For example, he can say "truck". He says it when we read his picture books. But if we see one in real life he'll point and say "vrooommm!" instead. Maybe because that's what he hears when we're by it versus the quiet book? He's still rough as ever at school. Need to work on this but not sure how other than being consistent in our discipline and making him apologize for mean actions.
3. Nicole's big thing right now is coloring, which Jim and I think she does particularly well, and sounding out words. The multiple sounds of letters stumps her at times (why can't C just be soft ("ka") and not hard ("ss"?).
4. Jim has been reading a lot lately and has plowed through several books. He's on one now that has historical events noted via newspaper headlines. It looks interesting but not something I care to read.
5. Looking forward to SPRING!

One Moment In Time

If you said a person's name my mind will instantly go somewhere. Most of the time it's an image of their face that's a still shot that I've just made up (versus a photo I've seen before).

If someone said "tell me about Lisa" my mind will always jump to a story versus a description. And it's always the same story. I have a "defining moment" with about everyone I know. Some are monumental, some are not. All are meaningful to me in some way or another because it was a time I felt that i was seeing the "real" person and in one way or another I really connected to them at that moment.

Just a few that readily come to mind....

Lisa: Her running past my college door in various states of undress

Grandpa W: His getting weepy over a non-fiction story I wrote of him for my Creative Writing class at UD

Sarah F: Sitting on the bridge at lighthouse retreat in one of those deeply honest conversations

Viki: Eating hummus with her and Laura at her bachelorette party

Jim: The exact moment I fell in love with him- watching a movie with his buddy on the couch and he and I cuddling on the love seat.

Sarah W: in Friendly's cleaning up for the night and gushing over $5 tips

Jenny J: catching up at a bar over one of our breaks in college- just her and I living it up and getting tipsy sentimental

Chuck: watching him watch Kristi walk down the aisle

Tom P: dinner at The Back Porch

Mike: eating chinese and learning Lindsay was pregnant

Greg: laying in bed when we were kids singing the "Oh They Built the Ship Titanic" song - we were rehearsing for a recital we put on for my parents later that month

My last day at work

So, today is my last day of work. My officemate was playing a soundtrack of goodbye songs and one of them was "It's the end of the world as we know it" and to that I reply "and I feel fine".

I do not feel any remorse in my decision to leave at all and I realize what a blessing that is. I'm confident that I'm making the right choice and I'm excited about what lies ahead.

That being said, saying good-bye to people already has been strange. I spent two hours hand-writing individual good-bye notes to every co-worker (including my replacement that I've only met twice!). I hope I don't cry. I hope nobody else does or that goal might be toast.

I've been here for 9.5 years so there are some people I'll miss like crazy. Not miss working with, miss seeing and laughing with. I'm expecting that some relationships stay strong even with the distance- fewer most likely than those who'll fade off and never hear from again. Though Facebook might make "never" more like "seldom".

So, here's to fresh starts, new faces, and the beginning of another adventure.

New Job!

Yesterday I put in my two week notice at work. I've been at the same company for nine and a half years so my leaving at all is a pretty big deal. The time is right though and I'm excited, not sad, about leaving.

The new role will be a marketing focused one at a law firm downtown. I really liked all of the partners I met and am especially fond of the woman who will be my new manager.

Jim's been super-supportive through the process, which is especially wonderful because he's not happy where he's working so seeing me have an opportunity to move on is probably not very comforting for him right now.

I start on Valentine's Day. Wish me luck!