I'm coming out...I want the world to know...

...that, as of April 2, I am unemployed. By choice. Yes, in this economy. No, it wasn't on a whim.



Back on one particularly stressful day, I came home in complete misery from a day of work, school, appointments and pain and realized that somethin's gotta give. At the time, I was only three classes away from graduation (stress-free electives), going to up to 5 appointments a week, and of course, I am in the boat of not being able to control the pain. In the end, it made the most sense to give up my job. It's only money.



This was not a lighthearted decision--I am after all a workaholic and have been with the same company for 12 years. So, about a month ago, I told my boss the words that I don't think either of us were ever expecting to hear..."You will be receiving my resignation shortly." It was a difficult conversation because I have a great deal of respect for him, along with everyone that I work with. Since then, I've been watching/hearing jaws drop all over the place as I slowly tell people that I'm leaving.



So, as we go along, I realize that I am losing out on luxuries that I can easily give up, like expensive handbags and jeans, but that I'm probably also going to lose out on the smaller things like my fancy handmade soaps, organic make-up and my favorite brand of toilet paper. Don't judge, I know you have one too. But, it's all worth it.



The decision made me feel really selfish for about a month. But, then I realized that this might be the most un-selfish thing I am doing for many reasons. However, the main reason is simply that my husband has been taking care of me for so long--running to the pharmacy for prescriptions, spending many nights in, getting out of bed at 2 in the morning to find my painkillers, taking care of medical bill disputes, cleaning, laundry and on and on and on. I see the stress it causes him, even though he's awesome enough to hide it from me. By getting better, I can give him back both his wife and the life we once knew together...which also involved much less income. :)

I can't wait!
-S