I apologize for my lack of blogging recently! We have been rather busy, but not with anything particularly interesting. However, we have a lot of fun and exciting changes coming our way soon, which we are thrilled to share with everyone!
In my short life, I have always defined myself by my career prospects and my accomplishments. Yes, I know there is more to life than work and one should "work to live, not live to work." However, I'd like to imagine myself as a naturally ambitious person. Where others seek joy in arts or hobbies, I've always found myself to be happiest when I feel I am achieving a goal set forward for myself.
Since leaving my previous job and coming to Germany, I have been admittedly depressed on and off. With little prospect for continuing my career, I felt almost like I was losing a piece of my identity. When I got my job with the WIC Overseas program providing nutrition education part time, I was happy to at least have something to do, but still upset that I did not feel I was utilizing the best of my abilities. On my one or two days of work a week, I would walk to the office thinking about how out of place I felt doing my job. At the same time, I felt I should be happy just to have a job at all, let alone one even remotely close to my career field. This really caused me to harbor a lot of resentment towards myself. I had a job, why couldn't that be enough?
One Wednesday morning at 9 o'clock, in a half asleep state, I received a call that would change my time in Germany for the better. On the other end of the line was a wonderful public health nurse from the clinic on post telling me she had received my resume from a colleague and was interested in hiring me.
Of course, I was extremely shocked. I hadn't sent my resume to anyone since shortly after we arrived in Germany. Although not totally content in my current position, I had accepted the understanding that I had very limited options. I told the nurse that I was very interested in returning to the field of public health nursing and I would love to be considered. The next day, she called me back and asked me to come to her office so that we could discuss the position and start the paperwork for me to be hired.
It was that simple.
I got a call one morning that someone wanted to hire me, and the very next day I was hired, tentatively.
That was back in November or December and, in the normal fashion of the federal government, the process of completing the paperwork is a bit slow. This past week, I was finally given a start date in late February. It's a full time, 9 to 5 job like I was working back in Colorado that is very literally across the street from Greg's office. I can look out the window of my office into the window of his.
I truly believe going back to full time work is going to drastically alter our time here in Germany. Sure, having more money to save and spend will be nice, but most importantly it means we will be able to transition as a couple back into a similar position of living as we were in Colorado. To be very blunt, I hate being home so much. I do not think I was meant to be a stay at home wife. Our relationship runs much smoother when we are both working and have our own individual interests outside of our marriage. I expect that I will get much more enjoyment and personal fulfillment in my new position than I ever had at my current job. For numerous reasons, I do not find my part time position to be fulfilling and am very thrilled to be moving back into a field that is enjoyable to me.
In addition to my new job, Greg has some exciting news of his own. In the next few months, Greg will be going back to college to complete his bachelor's degree in information technology. Hopefully, finishing his degree in addition to his Army experience will open more opportunities to him when we return to the US. I'm extremely happy for him for taking these initial steps. It's definitely more difficult to do the older you get!
We have a lot of great plans for the month of February and beyond. We are very exciting to be taking a trip to London very soon. Later in the month, we plan to attend a boat party for Fasching, also known as Mardi Gras or Carnival. Maybe we'll even drive up to Cologne for Carnival season. In March, we were originally planning a trip to Dublin for St. Patrick's Day and Greg's birthday, but have decided to put that trip off until next year when we will have more time to spend exploring Ireland. Greg has some friends visiting from Israel for a week in May, but we have not decided what we'll be doing yet. This will be the first of what we are hoping will eventually be many visitors!
No comments:
Post a Comment