It took me less than one month to come to terms with the fact that two part-time jobs, two kids, my own writing, and everything else we have going on is just too much to handle at once. I gave notice to WaMu on Monday, and feel good about restoring a tiny bit of sanity to my life by the end of the month. I’ll be able to devote more energy to Big Tent, will still have play time with Jelly Bean every Monday afternoon, and will even re-gain my writing day. Needless to say, I’ll also be able to spend more quality time with my family as a whole.

Now I have the task of cleaning out my cube and files at the job I held for my entire pregnancy, and the place I returned to work part-time when my daughter was just six months old. It feels hard, and I’m realizing that it has nothing to do with how much I enjoyed this job. (It was a fine job, but nothing special.) It has everything to do with all the associations this place holds for me, all the happy memories of a time in my life I hold incredibly dear: Walks around the block with my bulging belly; walks to visit Joey in the office with our little newborn in tow; papering my cube walls with pictures of my six-month-old because I missed her so terribly when I first returned to work; dutifully pumping in the converted shower room; doing the morning commute rounds with Joey: drop off Kai, drop off Meli, drive ourselves to our shared workplace.

But now Melina is practically running, Kai is starting kindergarten, and I have a chance to flex my brain’s strategy muscles once again. In a sense, career-wise I’ve spent the last two years recharging. Now it’s time to re-engage!

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