Skills in the Workplace are Non-transferable...

Once you leave, you best leave them where they belong... at work.

I'm talking about all the skills I spent years to hone. The skills that made me awesome as the project leader in grad school. The skills that made me a great account executive and (in my opinion) an even better client. The skills that would have sent me flying up the corporate ladder had I not stopped to breed...oh, and quit my job... Yes, I'm talking about getting stuff done.

Just as we have learned from countless episodes of The Apprentice, making it in the business world takes ambition, passion, and the ability to throw your friends under the bus. What they don't reveal week after week is that for every 1 of those cut-throat candidates, there are about 500 people in the workforce totally willing to simply ride the wave. They don't really care about "making it". They have better things to do... they're just there to get paid. Work to live, not live to work.

While I can totally respect that, I loved my job, and, dare I say, was GOOD at it! I am smart, confident, self-motivated, and most of all, persistent. While every boss I've ever had has been in awe of me, these are NOT exactly skills that other stay at home moms appreciate.

If it's been a week and you STILL haven't called me back, I'll try you again. I don't want to plan a play date for "whenever", give me a date and time, and most importantly... an end time. If you want me volunteer my services to the Church, stop micro-managing me. I plan to get my project done (ON MY OWN) weeks ahead of schedule and will demand an equally speedy approval.

...and I guess that makes me "pushy". I'm just one elementary school production away from being a full fledged stage mom.

My days are still incredibly fulfilling, but in a different way. I don't get the sense of accomplishment I once did when I saw an ad campaign launch or completed a presentation. In fact, I now dwell in a world where nothing seems to get accomplished. Try as hard as I might, there will always be laundry, dishes, errands, diapers, diapers, diapers... It really never ends.

I still find joy in my son's happy face and in my happy home, but I can't help feeling like there is something I should be doing....

To fill the void, I've started decorating my house again, which is both a costly and dangerous venture. No bueno for our newly established plan of surviving on one salary and living on a budget.

So far, I've scheduled the bathroom cabinets to be repainted, ordered a new kitchen table, eyed a Pottery Barn buffet in a delicious "ivy green", drafted a plan to remodel our laundry room, and the best is yet to come....

photo by tvossphotography