13 years, 9 months

It is with both great joy and great sorrow that I write this post.

For those of you that have known me for a long time this may come as a shock to you so prepare yourself. In order for this to make sense, I have to start at the beginning.

14 years ago I got a job working as a waitress for a great company. After I graduated from college, while I was hunting for a position in my field, I accepted a promotion with the same company to move into management. I always thought the position would be temporary, only until I was ready to start my career in my chosen field.

That never happened.

9 years later, I accepted another promotion with the same company, as General Manager for them. I do not regret my decision to stay with them because I love the company and I love my job. They have treated me extremely well since the beginning.

Well, while working for them I also started to purse another passion of mine. Writing. Again, I never envision it being my full time job. I always thought that it would be a side gig or hobby. It’s fun and fulfilling but it’ll never be able to replace the income that I need from my day job.

Well, this is not about the money. It’s not even about me being able to write full time which is something that I enjoy immensely. It’s about me being home, spending time with my family and enjoying my life.

Saturday, March 28, 2015, after 13 years and 9 months, I am giving up my day job to pursue my dream of being a full time author. I thought long and hard about my decision. I weighted the options over and over again. My BF and I had a ton of long talks about it.

See, when I dedicate myself to something I give 110% to it. I’ve been giving 110% to my day job for almost 14 years and that left very little time for me to spend with my family and friends. Then, take away more time from them when I’m writing or at a signing and there’s nothing left.

My family is the most important thing to me. Without them I am nothing. They are what matters most to me. Since my promotion I have been seeing less and less of them. Thats not fair to them and for that I apologize.

So, in 5 days I will be home. For good. I have found a new job where I will work during the day and be home every night. Life as I’ve know it for a long time now is about to change in a good way. I’m looking forward to family dinners at a “normal” hour. I’m looking forward to fighting the lines at the grocery store because I can shop on Saturday or Sunday instead of 8pm on Tuesday night.

These things seem trivial but they are things I know nothing about. I’ll probably be posting a rant soon about how people at the grocery store suck on the weekends. Who knows? All I know is that I’m looking forward to it.