As I mentioned in previous posts, I was laid off from my job in June last year. I really struggled with this for a number of reasons- one being the fact I loved what I did- my heart has always had a lot of room for inner city kids in far less fortunate situations than many of us could imagine.
Another reason that did not hit my until now were the absence of daily friendship and social life. I love the people I worked with and considered many of them good friends. It was nice to have that social outlet and people to help relieve the stress that went with such a stressful and high demand job- a job that only a person there could understand. Yes folks, I miss my work buddies!
In the past, I've been used to resigning a job on my own terms and have usually stayed long term. Usually my departure is with a "the door is always open" offer as I walk away. So an unexpected side effect from my lay off was embarrassment. Yes, there were over 100 lay offs in the school district. Yes, every single social worker was laid off. And yes, the positions are not mandated and were grant funded so the schools are less likely to fund them (translate: the writing was on the wall). But, still I was left feeling like I had done something wrong. Like I was alone. Though reassured time and again that my absence would be not only noticed but that I'd be missed.
So the transition time came and went, and I still found myself without a job that I wanted to do and that compensated me for my education and experience. The "bad economy" that we had been fortunate enough to ignore the last several years had become a very real thing to us.
Currently, I am working 2 part time jobs and am really having a hard time adjusting. The work is not the same (one job is in kidney dialysis, the other with teen parents), and truthfully I'm bored. I'm not the type that thrives on boredom, personally or professionally. So, we'll see where this road goes. I know that with anything, there's an adjustment period. A time to wait and see. In fact, looking back in my blog posts here, it was not long ago that I felt this way at the job I came to love...
I do feel like this season is just a transition into something else. Time will tell, and prayers are appreciated!