Happiness and the Little Things

I get to work with these sweaters people every day!

I have been conspicuously absent from this blog for almost a month now - a month! I say conspicuously because I'm the only one who writes for it, not because a lot of folks read it! Hello mom plus 4 other people who are most likely directly related to me!

Where have I been you may ask? I have been working full time, eating awesomely bad things and hanging with with my husband, dog and best friends. Life is good friends - life is good!

First, the job - I am now working full time at my "get well" job and I couldn't be happier! What started as a "come in and help with random stuff a few days a week" has turned into "hey why don't you come on in everyday!" And I love it. I get to do so many different things - some regular office manager tasks like billing and grocery shopping, but some writing, project management and client management as well. It's like a Frankenstein job where all the parts are awesome and I can walk there. And bring Tex!

I struggled a lot with what to do after Sew Crafty. Like many times in my life before, I beat myself up over not being able to decide the right path. Then I just started to let go a bit. Ruthie, a good friend who is one of the wisest people I know, said "Can you just work part time for a while?" When I said yes, she replied "Then why don't you just enjoy it and coast a bit."

So I coasted. I worked part time, worked out, walked, shopped at Target, visited my parents, and hung out with Ryan and Tex. It was a transitional time - some good times, lots of stress on choosing the "right" thing to do with my life, and lots of crying jags. I did this for about two months and had lots of "What will I DOOO!?!?" moments. On day I realized that I needed to find a full time job - it was time to make a choice. I needed to become a financially productive member of my family again.

At a work event called Tuna Infinity and Beyond
with a bunch of neuroscientists
reppin' Charlie the Tuna! You read that right.

In June, I came in to work and talked to my boss/friend (Brind? Fross?) about the situation. It didn't occur to me he would counter with "Well why don't you just work here full time?" Mind blown. That can happen?!? Apparently so. A month later, I'm a full timer!

Since then I have been adjusting to a full time schedule again. After working for yourself on your own time for 3 years, it's a bit of a challenge to get back into the groove of being somewhere every weekday for 8 hours at a time.

When it's the right place it make life much easier (examples: I love the people I work with; I like going to work in the morning - waking up is much easier when you look forward to being somewhere; one of my duties is keeping the office kitchen stocked, so I get to grab a few things for home while I'm at the grocery - multitasking win; they are flexible with stuff like dentist appointments and haircuts). Also, I know I mentioned bringing Tex, but it is just so cool to have your dog with you at work. He snoozes next to my desk and it's nice to take a break to play a bit!

It's all about the little things friends. Through the past 6 months I have learned that the simple things are the best things - which I totally know is a cliche. But as one of my favorite college professors said, it's a cliche because it's true. Happiness is contingent on being grateful for where you are, content with what you have and a dog sleeping at your feet.

I am happy because, right now, I have all three - I hope you are all having the best time ever too.