My Life of Late

Whew, the kids are in bed now.

Going back to my first post (the one immediately prior -- and I'm sorry, I haven't developed the ability to link to my past posts yet, but give me time!), one thing that's been major of late is that I quit working in the legal field. A quote that neatly sums up the reasons for my departure would be from Nietzsche: "He who fights too long against dragons becomes a dragon himself; and if you gaze too long into the abyss, the abyss will gaze into you." I spent so much time dealing with horrendous family, criminal, and dependency (child welfare) situations, that I nearly lost touch with myself, my needs, my enjoyments, and most importantly, my family's needs and enjoyments.

Anyway, when I chose to leave the legal field, it was a hugely difficult decision, despite the obvious necessity and benefits. My (former) boss is a friend as well as employer, and my decision left her in a difficult spot. If it weren't for the stress level of the field, I'd likely have stayed even though her offer to keep me, financially, was still about 3K under what my new job is giving in compensation and benefits. I mean, who can beat regular two-hour lunches, weeks that end between noon and 3:00 on Fridays, a day and a half at Christmas, paid, for Christmas shopping, Christmas Eve-eve, and the day after the day after Christmas off, as well as Christmas Eve and Christmas... it just goes on. It was awesome working for her in so many ways. Ultimately, though, the stress of the clients was the final factor. I had to choose to work in a field with much less adrenaline rush (and much more money and bennies - actually, 9K once they're all added in, prior to my boss's generous offer) along with fewer days off in order to keep the truly important things in my life intact.

Needless to say, life around here hasn't been easy of late. I have second-guessed myself countless times. I mean, who wouldn't? Sheesh.

At any rate, that's the more detailed version of what's been up with me. Not that anyone's reading this, but eh, it felt good to get it out.