Two Career Family

This is my first Saturday post in a long while, and it will be brief (well, for me, anyway). There is so much swirling around my head about work, but the one thing I told myself when I started full time again, would be that I would post about work minimally if at all. I'm an all consuming type of gal, and the last thing I need is for that part of my life, which already occupies more than half of my time, to seep into my blog hobby. But it threatens not only to seep, but to flood.

I need to be smart and resist my urge to "blurt" everything out in one post, though. I have that tendency, to tell every stranger my whole life story (gee - have you noticed?). Now it's starting to happen at work; well, not my whole life story, but sometimes, in the interest of trying to bond with new co-workers, I know I've been suffering a bit from verbal diarrhea, and my inside-the-head voice is screaming," Okay, TMI, shut up, now...".

The one thing that is abundantly clear to me after 7 weeks on the job is that it is no longer just a job. As I suspected, I have thrown myself into it wholeheartedly and it is what it is. I take work home with me in my bag; I bring my laptop home; I compose memos - at home; I ponder my departmental resources and how to deal with HR issues - at home; I think about long term strategy - at home. It's all in my head, even if I don't lug the paperwork.

It's a career again.

We are a two career family.

In the almost five years I was at home with the kids, doing a bit of consulting, I did contemplate and was completely open to the possibilities of re-locating with the man if the right opportunity ever came along for him. Out of the country - even WAYYYYY out of the country. Something that took the oh-so-conservative me years to even imagine doing. The fact that I didn't have job ties was incredibly freeing that way.

Guess what? An opportunity has sort of come along. Murphy just loves us.

Because now that I have a career again, it's no longer so easy to make that leap. And to give credit to the hubs, it's a huge consideration for him now too. He wants to make sure that I give my job, my career, a chance to build up again. I feel guilty about that too - especially as it's all so new to me and I'm not sure that I love the whole career thing just yet.

Another opportunity will come. But DAMN why didn't this happen a year ago? I would have quite happily enjoyed the sunny U.S. or taken the kids on weekend train rides through the European countryside. You know, while their Dad slaved away at work. At his career.