Thursday, April 5, 2012

End Of An Era

The concept of an era is relative to the person who has experienced it. I define an era as a period of time where things stay relatively the same, consistancy in where you live, where you work, or your relationships. For this reason we all begin and end endless eras within our life, some more prominent than others.

I was a stay at home mum for 8 years, before the need to have money for our wedding prompted me to return to work. This was easier than expected as a friend of mine from Facebook had employment vacancies at her work. Within a couple of weeks I was working. This was a very emotional time as I had not spent that much time away from my kids ever, and even though I was looking forward to working, getting out of the house and being a person again, I also felt I was letting my kids down by not being there for them. We all soon realised that this was not the case, and although it took a while for us all to adapt, adapt we all did.

Now, about 14 months later, I had been moved around from store to store, without any say. This was combined with the lovely bunion on my right foot which was causing me a lot of pain while driving, and then compounded by a deep vein thrombosis, peresumably caused by the pill, estrogen. It was a combination of these two problems which prompted me to request that I be relocated back to the store I helped open, that is only 10 minutes from home, as opposed to the 45minutes in bbad traffic I was doing. But I was told no, they couldn't move me, and basically tough luck.

It was this lack of concern for my health that prompted me to look for another job. Healthwise I needed a job that has me less on my feet, and personally, I don't want to work for a company that cares so little for the health of their employees. I looked for work, applied for a few positions, and got an interview. That interview turned into 3, and within 2 weeks, I was told I had a new job working in purchasing for an international company.

At first this daunted me, and I doubted my capabilities, but then I realised that I must be capable to do this job, if the people I will be working with think so. I also realised that my current job was just that, a job. This neew move is a step forward in my career, with hopefully less broken promises and more support than I had before.

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy working at this store, and they did give me the opportunity that I needed to reenter the workforce. And for that I will always be grateful. I learned a lot, experienced a lot and for much of my time with them, I loved my job. I suppose this makes it twice as sad that there was no farewell for my leaving. That hurt. Many people have left in my time there, and for those that had been at the company a year or so, a farewell party was held, and a collection for gifts was made so the recipient could have a farewell gift. I barely got a wave and a good luck. But this made me realise I truly am making the right move.

I have a habit of looking for signs everywhere, and the smallest things and the biggest things can all give you messages to let you know if you are on the right path, or not. Each sign I have seen has led me in this direction, and even though I feel nervous, anxious and scared that I may not be able to handle this new job, deep down I feel excited, proud and assured that this is where I'm meant to be.

An era has ended, a new era has begun. I wonder how long this one will last?

Danielle xoxox