On January 10, after 1 year, 11 months, and 20 days of being unemployed or underemployed, I start a new job. Fulltime with benefits, in my career field, at a very reasonable and acceptable salary.

I’m grateful that I had the freedom to take my time finding a job. Since I only had to support me (and the dogs), I could choose to get established in grad school first, and then to work part-time until the right position appeared. Even so, it feels like a huge weight has been lifted, that I didn’t usually realize I was even carrying.

And I have 3 weeks to get used to getting up early in the morning again. Guess I need to find where I hid my alarm clock. LOL

Update: I also meant to add that had I been working, I might not have been as free to let myself grieve for Mom this past year. As it was, I was able to take time when I needed it, and process the emotions as they hit, instead of having to shove them aside while dealing with other stuff. That’s a blessing, as well.