[learning to] leave

Today is bittersweet.

Today is the last day that I lock up, turn off the lights, and step outside of Writers & Books on University Ave.

Today I say goodbye to working 12+ hour Tuesdays, running from one job immediately to the next and working until at least 9pm.

Today I say goodbye to working every single Saturday from 9am-1pm.

Today I reclaim my evenings and weekends and happily give of that time to most of all my husband, myself, family and friends.

Today marks the end of working at this wonderful non-profit that I've called part-time-job-home for the last 3+ years.

So as you can see, it's bittersweet.

I first started here as a college intern during my senior year, excited beyond belief to get into a local literary organization (being an English major and all).  After that internship and with impending doom {ahem, graduation} looming, I was excited to hear about an opening working at their front desk.  I eagerly applied, interviewed, and had the job!  Since then, I've enjoyed working countless events, registering adults and children for writing classes, and enduring all things quirky that come with a non-profit located in the city, all while being surrounded by books and writers (ha, that pun wasn't intended).

However, as anyone knows, working a full-time job and a part-time job at the same time comes with some downfalls.  While Writers & Books has been my calm sanctuary after a high-stress day of work at said full-time job, the time came when I felt the need to move on for my own physical, emotional, and relational health.  The timing was perfected by Col's graduation from grad school which freed up his evenings again and his own start with a steady part-time job.  While he had class, there was no harm in me working, and it was most helpful in ensuring he graduate without any debt.  But now that he has his time back, I want mine.

(as stated before in this post, we kind of did things backwards by not having a lot of time together as newlyweds, so here's to this next year of regaining that!)

Side note: Even after making the final decision that it was time to leave, I endured days of nervousness because I have never in my lifetime quit a job!  That's right, I've always been lucky to have jobs where I simply phase out or not reapply (In high school I worked two summers for summer school, then graduated and moved to college.  In college, all 4 million jobs that I worked at once were all on-campus positions, therefore when I graduated, I was done.  I worked one summer for BOCES summer school, and simply didn't reapply because I was working full-time for AmeriCorps VISTA Rochester Youth Year which was solely a one-year position that ended on its own.).  So this was a whole new experience for me and especially hard because I like it here, and I'm not leaving because of some deep-seated hate or awful experience.  Thankfully, everyone understood and even blessed me with a wonderful gift card to a new restaurant that Col and I are excited to try!

While I am excited to only have one job and more time, I am sad to leave the W&B family who I've known for 4 years.  But I'll keep in touch.  No one can get rid of me that easily!  Thank you all for the laughs, crazy situations, and opportunities that I've had here!

W&B front desk staffies