Settling In with At-Homeness

I woke up at 2:00 am again this morning, as I have done almost every morning since I've been without a job. However, this morning a cold sweat and anxiety attack didn't awaken me, but the noise of Kitty Rocky playing in the livingroom. I lay awake for a little while before drifting back to sleep, but I made a mental note that I wasn't harboring thoughts of panic about my jobless status and didn't begin creating scenarios in my mind of what the future will be like if I don't find a job soon.

I take this as a good sign. This week has been a very good one, and I have completely enjoyed my at-homeness. While I have been exploring opportunities and reviewing the DOL and other career websites, I haven't been obsessing over my job search. I've put out feelers in many directions, and have contacted several of my professional peers alerting them to my availability for employment. As a result, I even landed an interview yesterday and have started the ball rolling toward a potential consulting job with a second organization. The interview was most interesting. While I don't feel that I was the right person for the job, I hit it off well with the company owner, and it looks like he may have some special projects for me that can be done on contract. The groundwork is being laid and I feel confident that the right doors will open at the right time.

On the homefront, the week has been wonderful! My tomato and pepper seeds have sprouted, and my strawberry plants are healthy and beginning to bloom. I planted Bibb lettuce seeds in the garden, and will soon plant a second row. I can already taste my early summer salads! Diamond and I have enjoyed long walks, and Kitty Rocky is getting accustomed to my being at home and showing me a tad of feline affection. I have gotten back to my bread baking, and I have begun a granny-square afghan that I bought the yarn for months ago. Phil has work coming in, and he is also going to make some prototypes of the lazy susans he made for Christmas gifts for us to try our hand at selling online. We are brainstorming to try to find out-of-the-box ways to earn extra money, and we have hopes that our big garden will help out our grocery bill this summer. I have even lost two pounds - without thinking about dieting! I had an appointment with my oncologist this week, which resulted in a good report for my eight year anniversary.

My days now are most definitely different than they have ever been in my life. My collection of days has taken on a new dimension.

I like it.