A Change?

I’ve been absent again. I didn’t mean to. The days just seem to go by and the time isn’t there at the end of them for blogging. It’s not that I don’t think of it, I do. I often think “Oh I am SO going to blog about this!”  But then much like everything else in my life, I forget five minutes later. I guess a squirrel as my avatar is a good choice.

A few posts back I talked about the fact that my company will be closing its doors at the end of January. I didn’t report back here about anything new, because quite honestly there isn’t much to talk about. We were given our separation packages, and I can’t really talk much about that. I can tell you it’s fair but not great. I can tell you they are being, in my opinion, underhanded with one aspect of it. But that’s all I can say. Most of it is pretty standard fare, so nobody is making too much noise. 

As we were getting ready to leave for Christmas break, a fantastic opportunity presented itself. Again, until things fall into place, I really can’t talk about it. But if things work out, I may be breathing a huge sigh of relief in a few weeks. I did everything I can to help myself with this, and I should hear within a week or so of our return on the 4th. Please keep your fingers and toes crossed for me ok?

So once that was put bed and I had done all I could, I felt I was free to enjoy the holiday season. Being that I have two full weeks off, I decided to spend them with Kelly. I carted a bunch of my stuff over to her place, including my work laptop, and I’ve been staying with her since the 20th of December.

It’s been wonderful.  I love not having to say goodnight after we go out to a movie.   I love being able to have some Bailey’s on ice and not worry about having to drive home. I love the space and freedom and privacy we have, just us, together. It’s made this holiday season truly special.

This Christmas, what with losing my job and all, I’ve not done the traditional “racking up of the bills” that I was so good at in past years. In fact, nobody received anything from me this year. Well, ok, except for Kelly, I couldn’t help it. But they were practical gifts, I swear. 🙂  I’ve never done it this way, and I am really glad I did. It was quite a shift for me, and for my family, but I just couldn’t risk it until I know more about the opportunity in January.

The best part  is that I discovered how much fun it is when you can just enjoy the holidays without any of the stress of shopping and wrapping.  We spent a fantastic evening at my sister’s home on Christmas eve, including an amazing meal. My sister can REALLY cook. Then Christmas was my mother’s turn to feed us. Again, a great meal with family. I only wish Kelly’s family was closer so that we could spend some time with them as well.

Yes I know, some of you may be thinking “Time with family? And no stress? are you MAD man??” Thankfully, I don’t have too many of those issues. I’m not big on drama and I tend to let things slide. See my first couple of sentences about how easily I forget stuff. And other than immediate family, all the rest live over 14 hours away, so there is no chance of seeing them. But I wish I could, particularly my dad’s side. That would be a hoot. You haven’t partied until you’ve partied with French Canadians for the holidays.

So you might be wondering why I called this post “Change?” with a question mark.

There is a HUGE shift coming. I can feel it. Pieces are falling into place. For years I have felt stagnant. I met Kelly, that is true, and good things have been happening, but I still felt like it was always the same old same old in the rest of my life. I was in a holding pattern. And now I am at the edge. I may have no job in a month. Or not. Kelly might be a Teacher in no time, or she may be stocking shelves or answering phones for a bit until she is. And those two pieces are the key to an avalanche of change that I have known was ready to fall for years. The difference now is that I think I may be ready to fire the explosives into the mountaintop.