Surprise Sabbatical

I’ve not posted anything new since November, 2015 quite deliberately. Many are aware of the past chaos, but it certainly didn’t seem worth broadcasting. The same-old-same-old, mundane, and even at times gut-wrenching routine finally drove me to the drastic decision to seemingly quit life as I knew it in March of this year. I’d been at Papa Murphy’s Pizza for a considerable amount of time happily making pizza and grudgingly trying to interact with brick walls, but after a scale-tipping, tolerance-destroying encounter, I left. Like a good girl I put in my two weeks, but it certainly hadn’t been premeditated. It was more like a worst-case-scenario response, and I unfortunately finally reached that worst case. And so on February 26, 2016, I apathetically turned in my hat, packed up my locker, and marched out the door without second thought.

The following Monday, February 29, 2016, I started a new, equally awful job at a call center. I lasted two weeks: one full pay period. I was basically working full-time making slightly less than what I did at Papa Murphy’s only  to be snapped at 90% of the time by people who thought I was a scamming telemarketer (at that time, I probably was without realizing it.) After a sudden, completely unanticipated meltdown at work, I packed up my desk, told my supervisor I was leaving, and….left. I cried all the more when I reached my car because I’d never just walked out on a job before. What was I doing?! I went home, called Aaron (was surprised at his cheery reaction to my quitting), and fell asleep on the couch next to my dog.

For the next three months I was jobless. I turned in sporadic applications here and there and filled out literally hundreds online. Having never been without a job since the ripe age of 13, this was a new and admittedly terrifying experience for me. But that was a good thing. Taking my dear husband’s advice to “purposely do nothing,” I became a daytime TV junkie, doing yoga during Good Morning America, watching The Office on Netflix tuning in for moronic court shows, laughing in the afternoons with Ellen DeGeneres, and catching up on oldies like Bewitched, Green Acers, and I Dream of Jeanie. After two straight weeks of this, it tapered down to a couple shows a day, most of my time then being heavily occupied with gardening. I’m sure you’ve all seen my proud pumpkin pictures all over Facebook. When gardening reached its seasonal patience period and I became restless, Pops started teaching me auto body mechanics. This mostly consisted of me tearing apart a couple of cars and eating snickers against better judgement, but I certainly learned a lot about what’s under the hood.

After my surprise sabbatical, God began opening doors I never would’ve imagined being options. At the start of June, I was taken on at Artivities art gallery as a potter and pottery teacher. It’s only a few times a week, but that’s probably a good thing. In addition, I was hired on at CETUSA where I make my own hours as a Community Coordinator for foreign exchange students. Along with these merry blessings, I also started picking up odd jobs like yard work and elderly care, as well as the recent part-time internship at Network211. As a result, I’ve not had a panic attack or meltdown since June 12, stress levels have been significantly lower, and I can finally just be myself again.

Even though I shouldn’t be surprised, I find it rather humorous the ways God provides and takes care of us. Despite not being able to return to school either as I’d originally planned, He’s allowed me to return to the passions I’ve neglected while working elsewhere.