Plans... and Uncertainty

I've really decided.... I am leaving my job at the end of June/early July. After a few crappy days to remind me why I don't want to stay at this job forever, I think it's time to move on and see what opportunities Mason City and Clear Lake have for me.

There are a lot of people close to me that have moved to a small Iowan town to be with their partner - most notably my mom and her (and my) friend Leslie. Recently I've been reading Leslie's blog, where she chronicles her first jobs out of high school, and she is currently on the one that she worked at in a town very close to Mason City! As I read Leslie's blog, I think of my mom, too. They both had college degrees, very smart and hard-working, and both decided to take their chances in small town Iowa so they could be with the guy they love. And it's turned out really well for both of them.

My mom has risen high in the company she works for, and has shown that a small town really can provide a good job to support your family and lifestyle. Caleb has been offered a job he really thinks he'll love, and pays quite well too. I'm really proud of him and ready to be with him full-time, even if that means sacrificing my "city life" and current job to do that. (Although leaving my job doesn't seem so much of a sacrifice these days.)

I've been worrying mostly about two things lately: leaving my current job right after getting a promotion, and not having a job lined up in Clear Lake/Mason City.

My main concern with leaving my job is how hard I know it will be to cover for me while I'm gone, until they hire and train a replacement. Not to toot my own horn (but yes - toot toot!), but I really do help lighten my boss's workload, and with my promotion, have my very own workload that someone will need to shoulder. I wish I could tell them sooner, so they could all prepare, but I want to get this promotion in place for a while before I break the news. I feel a little selfish for this, but I do plan on giving them ample notice of when I'm leaving: 5-6 weeks. Hopefully that will be enough time to transition my work over to someone else, or hopefully hire someone to replace me.

I'm also concerned about not having a job to go to in Mason City. While I'm sure Caleb and I will be fine financially, with his good job, my savings, and my egg money coming in soon, I don't want to be out of work for long. I'm willing to try some temporary jobs, and am prepared to wait a while until a promising opportunity will come along. My main concern is that I want to contribute and not rely on him to support us both, and we want to work on saving all we can while we're young to prepare for our future: kids, our own house, vacations, etc. I don't want to drain our savings to live without a job before we even get that much saved.

I think I mostly need to relax and let things happen as they will. I've been drawing inspiration from my friend Amy (Leslie's daughter), who I admire for her free spirit and ability to travel and live without concrete plans all the time. She's made things work for her, and has learned to thrive in relative uncertainty about jobs and her future career. I think I need a little of that, so I love hearing about her road-trip and waitressing experiences she's having until she finds the right place and job for her.

All in all, I'm sure we'll be fine. I will always have a plan, and a back-up plan, but I will certainly learn to live with a little more uncertainty in my life - I think it'll be good for me.