My Purpose

I LOVE being at home! My contract job is slowly coming to an end. I have been working since January, on what was to be a 3 month contract assignment. It popped up out of the blue on an email and I initially thought it was a scam.

Strangely I had been thinking about going back to work and jobs started presenting themselves. Though I wasn't particularly serious about it, I was interviewing a bit - figured after 5 years of being at home it was good to rebuild those skills. This perfect & temporary assignment just appeared and I decided to give it a shot. My dad had just retired and I had him to watch my daughter and get her to preschool and dance lessons.

Those three months have gone beyond 10 months now and this job has been a definite learning experience. I do love working and this job in particular. They let me do a flex schedule, I take off whenever I want, and I can still be a mommy. Over the summer I worked only two days per week so I could be with my daughter. Since school started, I have been taking my daughter to school, going to work, getting off early, and have picked up my daughter from school every single day. I haven't missed any part of this experience with Miss Fabulous.

But...it's coming to an end. I'm now working 4 hours a day for only two days of the week. Financially it's not even beneficial to drive there for those two days, but...it's a nice opportunity and I have grown to really enjoy most of my co-workers.

This job has shown me that I CAN work and be a great mom. That I enjoy working part-time but prefer being a full-time mom. That I still have "it" and am a great employee.

Most importantly though, it's shown me just how clueless most people are. Most - not all. They are stressed about the silliest things, complain about having to go to work rather than being grateful for the opportunity, or just simply don't appreciate their co-workers as real people.

There are absolutely some folks you just don't want to be around, but knocking people behind their backs just ain't ever gonna be cool with me. The large corporate life is so different. People spend their time plotting and working angles to climb the silly corporate ladder and gain bigger titles while being bitter about the promotion someone "less worthy" got. They work to avoid actually having to work. The women are all convinced that they do not get the same benefits or pay or titles simply because they are women. Though I've seen that actually happen, in this situation, it's not the case. They don't see how their positions are different from those men they are comparing themselves to. In the corporate environment, everyone is a victim - they can't seem to just appreciate what they have.

Maybe it's all that I have experienced the past few years, but I just don't see things the same way. I really enjoy people I work with - as individuals. I love chatting with them and laughing with them. I love the silly emails they send me. I love the pictures of their families. I love to hear what they are appreciating in life. I love that they trust me enough to share the laughs. And I love being able to help them all in my job.

When I first started working there, I was "punished" from time to time by a co-worker. One day I was told to clean out filing cabinets because I was wearing jeans and this particular group of women always dress up for work, even though the rest of the department is very casual. I happen to enjoy cleaning and I was still helping out, it was awesome. I felt bad because she didn't realize that they were losing money on paying me to clean out filing cabinets rather than a task equal to the pay. Plus my other co-workers stopped to chat so it was extremely pleasant. There were some unpleasant punishments, but those were only words and they only stung temporarily.

Some folks just don't understand - I was never looking for the corporate ladder and something so trivial would never bother me for long. Thankfully the punishments went away when she realized that I stood up for her to others. I hope they all find that trust in themselves someday.

I have really enjoyed this working part of my life and love knowing what I want and what I don't. However, the past few days of errands, grocery shopping, house cleaning, volunteering, and casual time have been so wonderful. I just feel more like I'm "in" my life and serving my purpose. I love my thinking time.

Fairly certain that I will never be a sit around and just be kinda gal, but this life is more toward my purpose.