Sunday, October 02, 2011

Letting Go

Yesterday I unplugged from half my Facebook friends. This doesn't mean they aren't friends any more, but it does mean that I won't be keeping up with their daily lives like I have been. I want to say that I'll still be interacting with many of these people on a homeschooling email list, but I'm not as involved there as I used to be.

As I was getting ready to leave for work yesterday, Katie called and asked about the annual bird-banding presentation in Horicon. It would be a fun and educational outing for her and the girls. Katie's job is a lot more fun and fulfilling than my job.

Last week we cleaned the garage. We took quite a few items to Goodwill. There are homeschooling items I'm willing to sell. But there are a lot more I'm not willing to part with yet.

As much as I may enjoy my job (y'know, with its being a job and all), the downside is that I'm taking on my job at the bank in the wake of having had The Best Job In The Whole World. And that would make anything pale in comparison.

I don't want to get rid of those books. That would mean admitting that I'm done with them. I don't want to get rid of craft kits. That would mean admitting that I'm not going to teach Maggie how to use them. I don't want to disengage from gatherings of homeschool mommies (whether in person or online) because that would mean admitting that I'm done with that job and on to the next stage of life.

We're used to people getting better at their jobs, continuing in increasing enjoyment of their work as they hone their skills and advance in doing the part of the job they do best. But today's economy doesn't allow for that so much any more. So I'm not the only one saying goodbye to the best job I ever had or ever will have.

6 comments:

  1. What? Do you want to go cry together in a corner somewhere and yell, "Stop!!!" :)

    After two years at my job, I can say that I am enjoying it a little more now...especially the people and learning lots of new things...and feeling like I am needed, again. But my heart and mind were no doubt the happiest when I was home, keeping a home and a family taken care of full time.

    It is the best job in the WORLD....I hope that the next generation of young'ins know that.

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  2. *sigh*

    Sometimes it seems like the second half of life is all about letting go of everything we so dearly invested ourselves in during the first half.

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  3. I have an at-work job that I love, but I have to agree that being at home, taking care of Jackson is definitely the best job in the world :-) I am lucky that my job is at night so I don't miss much of that (I just miss some sleep ;)) -Heidi

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  4. When is the annual bird banding event at Horicon?

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  5. Chris, the spring banding is Mother's Day weekend, Saturday and Sunday. You're not allowed to go on Sunday. The fall banding was Sept 25 last year. We didn't start hunting for information until Sept 30 and saw nothing on any calendar regarding a date. So my guess is that, IF it happened, we missed it. We'll need to remember to look up the information around Labor Day next year.

    If you're interested in driving a long way, though, to a FABULOUS bird-banding station, there's Sand Bluff Bird Banding Station. It's just south of the WI-IL line, about 20-30 minutes west of Beloit. Saturdays and Sundays, every weekend, during fall and spring migrations. You want to be there when they open at 8:00, which would mean leaving home at 5:00 or 5:30. Look up sandbluff[dot]org. I seriously thought about driving that far last autumn, but now with work on Saturdays I cannot. The fieldtrip is good enough that I think it's worth the 5-6 hours in the car.

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  6. Have to say, I'm glad I found this post. :) I was getting paranoid when I saw you'd unfriended me! :) I can live with culling. I was worried I'd done something bad! I'm not in the culling phase of the homeschooling bit, but, I can TOTALLY see me having a hard time doing that when the time comes. :)

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