how I Spent My Summer Vacation

Ah, summertime. Once upon a time a carefree season of wonderment and laziness. As children, the freedom from school and schedules lead into long and lengthy days of slacking and worry free times.

Alas…along comes adulthood and responsibilities. Suddenly we're lucky to have a couple of weeks of freedom – escapes from the stresses of day to day living and how we will carry ourselves through this life. And when we are lucky enough to find ourselves ensconced in a short break from reality, do we really leave it behind? No – it seems to find a way to creep into our brief revelries and jar us from our short fantasies. Worries about things at work, worries about things at home. 

I spent a week this summer playing tour guide to my family. My father, sister, brother-in-law and niece flew out to visit me and my husband in the middle of June. It was a wonderful visit – we were happy to have them stay and show them some of the various wonders that the great state of California has to offer. I shuttled everyone up to Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks where we oohed and aahed over the wonders of nature while carefully avoiding bears that crossed our paths. Down to LA where we saw every star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, all the hand and footprints of Grauman's Chinese Theater, visited the exclusive shops of Rodeo Drive and braved temperatures in excess of one hundred degrees to see the La Brea Tar Pits. Then for a jaunt up the coast where we reveled in the cooler temperatures and ate in a restaurant hanging over the water at Morro Bay. We visited the fabulous Hearst Castle, saw sea lions, seals and sea otters before heading into a giant grove of Redwoods and setting up camp in San Francisco, where we rode trolleys, saw fabulous Fisherman's Wharf and visited the famed grounds of Alcatraz.

It was a wonderful week of carefree adventures before returning to the realities of day-to-day life. 

And then, just like that, when I returned to work, I lost my job. Nothing like the sharp pain of a heavy dose of reality to quickly awaken you from the fantasies that time away can bring. 

The loss of my job hit hard. It has been analyzed and scrutinized by a close group of friends that lived the same life I did while employed for the same employer. And we've all come to the same conclusion – when you leave a job…for whatever reason and by whatever method…and you actually feel glad that you never have to go back…well, that says something about where you were working. 

Hubby referred to it as "the swift kick in the ass" that I needed to finally leave and find something better. And it's true. I only stayed for the money. Most all of the people I enjoyed working with left long ago, and I stayed behind to trudge through the mundane and miserable and try to make something better out of something that just didn't want to be better. 

Trying to choke down the automatic panic that began to set in, I began looking for a new job immediately. Not an easy task in this new "bear market" economy that we all have found ourselves in. 

Oddly enough, looking for a job is a full-time job in itself. I have registered with almost every temp and placement agency in town. I've taken so many typing and computer tests that I seem to know them all by heart. I found myself having to sell myself hard – even harder than before as I now have a "released from employment" blotch on my pristine record. It seemed that this would be an obstacle to overcome…a huge obstacle forcing me to reach into the depths of myself and call upon my experience in retail sales (shudder) to sell myself to the masses. 

Determined to rise above this hindrance in my life, I forced myself to remain positive. "Something better will come out of this," I told myself every day, "all things happen for a reason." 

And at last, the light seems to have arrived at the end of the tunnel. After twenty-four days of unemployment, registering with every placement agency in town, prowling the job boards online, taking employment tests until my brain felt like it would fall out and scoring a small handful of interviews…I have an offer.

Summer vacation is over.

I will finally be joining the ranks of the gainfully employed again. And not a moment too soon. The pay won't be quite as spectacular as my previous job. But I hope to find the work environment to be more suited to civilized living. And I plan to take this opportunity that has been put in front of me and better myself from it. I'm looking at going back to school…they actually offer degrees in Administrative Assisting. I can get an actual degree that backs up what I already know that I'm good at. 

And who knows…this may be only the beginning of something better for me. I have opened my eyes to the wealth of opportunities around me and plan to keep my options open. After all, this is only a temporary job with the option to be a permanent employee at a later date. I hope it works out, but still plan to keep my eyes and ears open for new opportunities. 

I have the chance to spread my wings. It is time to fly.