Sunday, March 6, 2011

Livin' the Dream

Starting on Pi Day (that's March 14th for you non-geeks) I'll be going to work part time.  This is something I've been thinking about for awhile, and something Rusty and I have talked about over the past few months.  I'll be working 9 hours a day on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  These hours allow me to keep benefits and they would also allow me to be eligible for Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) time off if I really need to stop working.

It all started when I heard an interview on NPR with a writer, Norah Ephron.  The article and interview can be found here:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=131161208

I don't remember the whole interview (it's been a couple of months since I listened to it), but the part that really got me was toward the end where she was talking about how she and her friends had a discussion about what they wanted for their last meal.  One of those friends later developed throat cancer, and the sad thing was that she could never have her last meal.  She made the obvious point that you should eat that "last meal" all the time.  Don't wait for it.  That really got me thinking and made me realize that I wanted to do this.


I don't really need to take time off, but I want to enjoy my time now because I feel good and I'm healthy.  I don't want to wish I had done it, I want to do it.  My goal is to spend one of those two days per week getting things done around the house that I've always wanted to do (the kind of things that nag at me).  The other day will be for fun.  I envision lots of sewing and knitting, but I'll keep my options open.

Some people at work know what's going on, but some people don't.  My boss asked me what I wanted to tell people, and we'll say that I'm taking time off to deal with a family situation/help out with family stuff.  It's intentionally vague.  I expect the people who know what's happening in my life to understand, but the people who have no idea hopefully won't ask.  I still don't feel comfortable telling everyone at work at this point.

Hopefully more time will mean more blogging.  We'll see :-)

2 comments:

Mom said...

The title says it all.

Love, Mom

Unknown said...

Good for you. I've been thinking of you and I can't believe I missed all these updates. You are in my thoughts and I wish you the very best. Enjoy your time to yourself/at home. Sounds like a fabulous idea!