Not Quite Crazy

I gave up a perfectly good job today. Not just perfectly good--the best job I've ever had, doing work I enjoyed, working with people I love. I quit despite the current economic turmoil, despite not yet having the usual reason (children), and not merely to write full-time (which would still be crazy.)

It was not an easy decision. It took all my courage and the knowledge of Lou's full support. It wasn't like my departure from YD, which happened naturally when they decided to move over the mountains and I decided to stay--this was a choice that no one made for me.

Two weeks ago I gave the standard two weeks' notice. I gave two reasons: the first, that my goal has always been to be a wife and homemaker; the second, that several years of stress have taken a toll on my health that can't be redeemed in two weeks' vacation in a given year.

Today I gave half my team to the care of one person and the other half to another. I packed my coffee mug and my snowflake blanket that I used to keep warm all day and the microwaveable rice bag that one of the administrative assistants made me a couple of years ago. I gave my philodendron to Brittany and brought home the pink roses my team gave me. I brought home my water bottle and my Hebrew notebook and my hand lotion. I shut down my computer and turned off all three monitors and gave my building key to my boss.

I'm looking forward to staying home--but I'll miss that job, and especially the people I worked with. I'll miss being with Lou around the clock--we've not been separated for more than a few hours since we got married. I'll miss the steady routine and the creativity of my coworkers and the affirmation given for good work. It's a good thing that I know a lot of those people outside of work, or today would have been much harder. It still involved tears, after it was all over.

The most commonly asked question is "What will you do at home all day?" The simplest answer is "I haven't been bored in at least twenty years. I don't expect to start now." There is a long list behind that answer.