Reflections between points

I was thinking about where I was ten years ago. This is brought on by the fact that I'm between points in my life. I am going to move to a new place, in two weeks, and return to that place called 'the workforce.' Right now, I'm jobless, and have been for about three and a half years.

Ten years ago, I was preparing to move to England with our six month old Drama and Hubby McRed, who had yet to return from Korea. When he did, we had a few weeks before we left for England.

Once we arrived in England, I was a working mom, with one kid. I ate lunch at this awesome little shop that sold the best lamb kebabs, and it was always loaded with yummy yogurt sauce. I ate lunch with my friend Rach, or Ann-Marie, and we gossiped about our bosses, our men, other people's mens, and just generally people we knew. Occasionally, Hubby McRed would meet me for lunch. Once, I called him and made him fix a flat during the middle of the work day.

I was tired from working, attending college classes, and taking care of an 8 month old turning into a toddler. But I also had fun because of working, attending college classes, and taking care of said intant/toddler. We had friends, mostly male friends, come over practically every weekend, and we'd order Indian food. I loved chicken tikka and the nan bread. Hubby McRed hated Indian food for the first six months, and then suddenly developed a taste for it.

I went to the outdoor market at Bury St. Edmunds with my toddler, and we browsed both the outdoor stalls and the indoor shops. I found the best black Mary Janes and pink rain coat for her, as well as the yummiest farm fresh Strawberries. I'd treat myself to a Cornish pastie and coffee. I adored the cobblestone roads that were closed off on market days, and enjoyed the brisk weather. Sometimes I would walk with her to the Abby ruins, where there was a huge garden you could stroll. I still have the pictures of that place. I loved Bury St. Edmunds. It was small, quaint and adorable.

About every two months or so, Hubby McRed and I would drive up to Cambridge, which was my favoritest place of all, and shop their huge outdoor market, peruse all the wonderful shops and walk the cobblestone roads in the pedestrian area surrounded by old buidings, colleges and abbeys, getting coffees and sitting outdoors watching people spill out of other cafes and pubs. One of our favorite dinner places in Cambridge, was, ironically, Chilis. Drama girl would usually fall asleep, so we'd have a quiet dinner. We never spent a lot of money there, because we didn't have a lot of money, but we always had fun, and always bought a little something.

That was where I was ten years ago.

Now, I'm ten years older, working on a second degree for what purpose I can't really say, with two preschoolers moving to a new place where I hope to work again, find neat places to shop and quaint hang outs, have lunch with people I call friends and build some nice memories so that when, in ten years, I think about where I was ten years ago, it will be those memories that pop up.

It really is time for a change for me, in the sense that going back to work after three years is a change. I think it's the right thing for me, because I'm so eager for it. And lets face it, nobody is eager for something they don't really want. I'm eager to go to a place where hopefully it'll be easier for me to connect with people, and by connecting I mean meet women I can be friends with.

Looking at the past two years here, I see that it was a period of aloneness. It was difficult for me to make friends for whatever reason, probably because it's just hard for any mom who stays home and has just moved to a new place to make new friends. It was also a period were I couldn't focus on any one thing. I blame that on the fact that I was a stay at home mom with twins under three. It was impossible to focus on anything, since I didn't have any time. This meant that the past few years have been rich for family bonding and children rearing, but sparse in personal growth and development.

Since age 16, I have worked. These past few years have been the only years in my life when I haven't worked, except for a one year period where I was in North Dakota finishing my degree. Yes, I said North Dakota. Ask Mel. She was there, finishing hers. That was one year. This was three to four years. I think it was the right thing, to stay home, because the boys were so young and Drama was going through some adjustments in school as we worked to find the right balance between medicine, routine, and special adjustments in how we handled homework and test taking, something all ADD kids have to struggle with until the right formula is found.

But, now, we've got a formula that works, the boys are ready for pre-school, and our budget, quite frankly, is ripe for a second income. I myself am ready for a paycheck, people above the age of 10 to speak to, and well, someplace to go during the day. So off I go back into the big wide world where I will soon be so ensconced in the workforce I can go back to complaining about how much work sucks, as I happily spend the money I make, sucking it up. I intend to cast a wide net. Since my degree andd work history is so varied, I'm almost guaranteed to get a weird, creative job, which I adore.

Just as the last decade has been a period of constant change and movement, I hope this next decade is a period of stability and prosperity.