Laid Off – One Year Later

A year ago today, I walked away from my dream job.

That is, I walked away from the job I had dreamed of.  But a year and a half into it, and I’d realized the job itself was far from a dream.

I was a Magazine Editor.

I made big decisions: I chose stories, issued deadlines, and networked with the movers and shakers in my up-and-coming city.

But I cried on Sunday nights.

I got stomach aches every day at 2pm because I crammed my lunch down my throat in a hurry to get back to work.

I gained 15 pounds in four months.

I didn’t walk out of my dream job because I realized how bad it was for me.

I got laid off.

Sometimes, when you’re not strong enough to do the thing you really must do, it gets done for you.

That’s what happened to me.

And now I live in England, and I’m starting from scratch.  No one here knows I used to be the editor of skirt! and Carolina Bride. (Well, a  few of them do, ’cause I told them.)

My husband built me a website, and I’m making up business cards and talking to people I don’t know, convincing them I know how to write articles and press releases, edit stories and organize events.  It’s scary and it’s hard.

But I only get stomach aches when I eat too much Cadbury’s chocolate.

And I’m back down to my normal, healthy, happy weight.

And I might cry on a Sunday every now and then – I can’t help it, I’m a crier – but it’s not because I can’t face the day ahead.