One Year Past the Big Leap

   For those of you who do not read this column on a regular basis, I made a large leap of faith a little over a year ago. I quit my full-time job. My working environment was becoming worse and worse. I no longer felt it was a good place to be.
   Usually, in a situation like this, I look for a new job before I quit the old one. I hadn't done that this time. I had been telling myself that my current workplace was the best I could do and that there was nothing else out there for me. Then a situation came up and leaving was my only option.
   It was a scary time for me. I'd always worked full time and always worked retail. The future I thought I was going to have was not going to be reality for me.
  I was very blessed to have two things going for me, C and faith. C had seen what was going on with my job and started looking for other options. He found a couple of potential places where I could work.  I also had faith. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I believe that my Heavenly Father has a plan for me. Something that may seem like a bad thing or a huge setback could be something better. I can choose to follow or not. I chose to believe that the reason for this sudden job change was because there was someplace else I was supposed to be and a better opportunity for me.
   I interviewed at a brand new independent pharmacy in a nearby town. From the first time I walked into the store, I knew I wanted to work there. I liked the manager. I liked the store and I liked that it was not corporate. I was hired as an on-call pharmacist which eventually turned into part-time and on call.
  Some interesting things happened in the year since I left my old job. One of the things that happened is that my body started to heal. I didn't realize that the number of hours I was working were taking a huge toll on my physical health. The carpal tunnel symptoms in my hand started to go away. I was able to sleep through the night. I was able to exercise and spend time outside. I had time to clean my house, do laundry and take care of my garden.
   I started to feel like a human being again. I got to spend time with friends and had more time with C. I was able to groom Scamp on a regular basis which made him very happy. (He is still pleased.) I'm able to go to church every Sunday.
  One thing that worried me about working part-time was the potential for boredom. What do I do with all the time I used to spend working? Would I have enough to keep me busy? The answer is yes. I have plenty to do and there are still some things I'd like to do that I'm not doing now. Time management is something that I need to work on.
   I'm happy at my new store. The entire staff works well together. I get to do things that I didn't do before. I feel like I have skills that allow me to make a significant contribution to the success of my store. I also believe that my efforts are appreciated.
  Do I miss my former colleagues? Yes, I do. I sometimes wonder how they are. It was hard leaving them and the customers I had worked hard to take care of for so long.
   As scary as it was, I'm glad I made that leap of faith. They say that when one makes such a leap one of two things happen, You either land on your feet or you learn how to fly. I'm not sure if I have landed or if I'm still flying. Either way, we are all right.