My One Year Quit-iversary

We're coming up on my One Year Quit-viersary, the day I stopped working full-time. Yup, it's almost been a full year since I hit the bricks and did something completely ill-advised. September 23 was my last day at work.

The reasons I left were serious: I was tired of the type of work, after 15 years I was not challenged and there was no foreseeable career path or advancement. Most importantly, I decided to commit myself to "righting the ship" -- to point my career back towards what I'm passionate about.

Ultimately, the experiment was a success. Last month I got a full-time job offer in my ideal field. Huzzah! Just, unfortunately, I had to turn it down because ... I'm moving to Paris. So, yeah ....

Financially, this has been a good wake-up call. I was definitely buying way too much, and not watching my spending. But on the upside, I was contributing to my family's monthly budget. And once that stopped, well, it's taking me some time to get used to. I have been fortunate to find some freelance writing work and the direct sales side-gig is bringing in some income. So ... there's that.

And looking back on the year, I've accomplished a lot. I was very involved in our basement refinishing project and I think that directly contributed to it being done mostly on time, and mostly on budget.

I also did a lot of decluttering and organizing. And got into some arts and crafts I haven't had time for. I even established a gym routine! Not to mention I got to be a dedicated mom; at the bus stop, morning and afternoon, hear all about school/camp, help with homework and, most days, prepare dinner.

I also became the unofficial family taxi driver. And found out grocery shopping is way more enjoyable on a Tuesday mid-morning, instead of a Saturday afternoon. Yes, I learned how quickly my family got used to me taking care of everything around the house, too. (Not always a good thing.)

I'm learning that each week is going to be different, and having an "at home weekly schedule" (laundry on Mondays, vacuuming on Thursday) is not realistic. The "that's who I am this week" motto is powering me through that particular life lesson.

So, there are advantages of doing something crazy like leaving a perfectly secure job; for me, I opened up space in my life to say "yes" to a lot of things I would have ignored or avoided. It's been a time to take a breather and consider what I really want, what my goals are. Be more intentional about where my ship is heading.

Now, was one of my goals to move to Paris? Sure, but in a very day-dreamy kind of way. Little did I know that just one year after I quit I'd be preparing my family for that big move. But here I am. Ready for the next adventure.



Related posts:
My "I'm quitting" announcement 
My Day 1 plans for staying home
More "stay home" posts
More "jobs" posts

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