These last few months of transition and job hunting have caused me to over think just about every topic. I tried to stay busy by filling my mornings with great friend-filled workout routines and organized so many random cold-call networking coffee dates, phone chats and LinkedIn connections that it started to feel a tad incestuous as my contacts began to overlap. And of course, I cooked to stay busy! Cake pops, granola, soups, empanadas and the list goes on. I managed to un-earmark most of the recipes I had been drooling over and I can now report that I actually crafted a handful of Pinterest ideas. And, most invaluably, I spent extra time with friends, family and made up for those lost months away from Dan when I was living in Georgia.
Now....its time to go to work!
I accepted a temporary 30 hour a week position with Anoka County working as a Health Educator providing strategic planning and technical assistance with the State Health Improvement Program. I had applied for the full-time position but was only offered the part-time consulting job. However, considering my eagerness to get working and the attractiveness of the nature of the work...I accepted. I will continue to look for a full time offer and hope this position leads to further opportunities. I am looking forward to learning about the preschool nutrition initiatives and hope to report healthy findings even though as a child I loved long-dog roll-ups and chicken patty day!
It's funny how time works. We value it most when we don't have it and when we do, we feel lost with how to fill it up. For the most part, I was constantly job hunting so it didn't exactly feel like vacation but sleeping in and going to the gym at noon for yoga was pretty nice!
This "free" time also made me think a lot about time on a larger scale. I just turned 29 and feel as if some things in my life are just beginning. As an unmarried, transitional student to career female, I must say this is a very strange and yet exciting time in my life. I am not immune to those societal whispers reminding me that my eggs are not getting any younger and that my window of motherhood is shrinking. I also see the career ladder and know that what I am lacking most is time and experience when really, I just want to jump to the point where I am doing my dream job! On occasion, I see those far away international dream jobs pop up tempting me to hop on a plane to Africa and join USAID or the Garmeen bank but then the idea of giving up all the joys and love of my Minnesota life trump the temptation. Yep, I am one of those who wants it all. A career, a family, an adventure and stability!
When I start to feel this bidirectional pull, I reflect back on this lesson a rabbi once told me. He said you can be good at many things but only great at one thing at a time. I also think of my mom's wise words comforting my "oh my god I am almost 30" panic by telling me that sometimes you make certain sacrifices in life depending on your circumstances but that life is cyclical and just like careers evolve and kids grow up, new life opportunities arise in time as if it was part of the plan all along. I guess I translate that to mean for me, I had my global adventure and now its time to focus on a career. I know I need to surrender control and reject some of those outside pressures telling me that life has to go in a certain order or that there is a time clock ticking away. If there is anything I hate more, its worry about things I can't control and missing out on the life I am currently living.
So, my intention for my last few days of unemployment are to do some more of those "if only I had time" kinda activities. I will stop worry or feeling like I am wasting time and see this down time as an opportunity to be filled with gratitude for my current blessings. With all these exciting life changes happening, I don't want to miss a thing so my commitment is to do my best to stop analyzing time, life milestones and societal (or personal) expectations and just have faith that I am living the life I am meant to live. A life of purpose, gratitude, patience and opportunity.
And if you think I was exaggerating about the cooking... check out the pile of healthy (no butter, no flour) cookies and granola tubs I prepared today. They will be perfect healthy treats for my first day of work promoting healthy eating!!
Now....its time to go to work!
I accepted a temporary 30 hour a week position with Anoka County working as a Health Educator providing strategic planning and technical assistance with the State Health Improvement Program. I had applied for the full-time position but was only offered the part-time consulting job. However, considering my eagerness to get working and the attractiveness of the nature of the work...I accepted. I will continue to look for a full time offer and hope this position leads to further opportunities. I am looking forward to learning about the preschool nutrition initiatives and hope to report healthy findings even though as a child I loved long-dog roll-ups and chicken patty day!
It's funny how time works. We value it most when we don't have it and when we do, we feel lost with how to fill it up. For the most part, I was constantly job hunting so it didn't exactly feel like vacation but sleeping in and going to the gym at noon for yoga was pretty nice!
This "free" time also made me think a lot about time on a larger scale. I just turned 29 and feel as if some things in my life are just beginning. As an unmarried, transitional student to career female, I must say this is a very strange and yet exciting time in my life. I am not immune to those societal whispers reminding me that my eggs are not getting any younger and that my window of motherhood is shrinking. I also see the career ladder and know that what I am lacking most is time and experience when really, I just want to jump to the point where I am doing my dream job! On occasion, I see those far away international dream jobs pop up tempting me to hop on a plane to Africa and join USAID or the Garmeen bank but then the idea of giving up all the joys and love of my Minnesota life trump the temptation. Yep, I am one of those who wants it all. A career, a family, an adventure and stability!
When I start to feel this bidirectional pull, I reflect back on this lesson a rabbi once told me. He said you can be good at many things but only great at one thing at a time. I also think of my mom's wise words comforting my "oh my god I am almost 30" panic by telling me that sometimes you make certain sacrifices in life depending on your circumstances but that life is cyclical and just like careers evolve and kids grow up, new life opportunities arise in time as if it was part of the plan all along. I guess I translate that to mean for me, I had my global adventure and now its time to focus on a career. I know I need to surrender control and reject some of those outside pressures telling me that life has to go in a certain order or that there is a time clock ticking away. If there is anything I hate more, its worry about things I can't control and missing out on the life I am currently living.
So, my intention for my last few days of unemployment are to do some more of those "if only I had time" kinda activities. I will stop worry or feeling like I am wasting time and see this down time as an opportunity to be filled with gratitude for my current blessings. With all these exciting life changes happening, I don't want to miss a thing so my commitment is to do my best to stop analyzing time, life milestones and societal (or personal) expectations and just have faith that I am living the life I am meant to live. A life of purpose, gratitude, patience and opportunity.
And if you think I was exaggerating about the cooking... check out the pile of healthy (no butter, no flour) cookies and granola tubs I prepared today. They will be perfect healthy treats for my first day of work promoting healthy eating!!
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| This should last awhile! |
