Lets be honest. I had unrealistic expectations from the start. I don't think I can name one person who graduates and immediately gets promoted or finds the perfect job. I can say that now but thinking back I was so frustrated and couldn't figure out why I never got a promotion. Don't get me wrong. My boss tried to get me one. My doctors tried too. We must have written three or four different job descriptions and every time we sent them to HR they always came back as being denied. I think what made it even more difficult was the fact that I was told on many different occasions that I would in fact get a promotion. So when it didn't happen, I thought it was me and I really struggled with why it wasn't working out. There were also times when I felt horrible for even asking for a promotion when so many people out there struggle and don't even have A JOB. I made up my mind to start looking elsewhere and even that didn't work. I would apply for jobs and hear nothing back. Then the resentment hit. Why did I go to school and put my family on the line? What was the point in racking up student loans if I was going to be an administrative assistant forever? I wanted MORE for myself and for my family.
But then I got pregnant again. Then we were looking for houses. With all of that going on, I didn't have the time or energy to find something new. I stopped looking. When I went back to work after my maternity leave I was a complete nightmare. I struggled with post postpartum depression. We had a baby who never slept (thank you Grayson for finally sleeping through the night at 10 months!) The timing was just off. I would have never been able to handle a new job. When things finally calmed down I made up my mind to start looking again. Tommy and I talked about it and came up with a game plan while we were on vacation in July. We decided that every Saturday I was going to go to Starbucks or the library, somewhere without the kiddos, where I could seriously look for jobs, write cover letters, tweak my resume, etc. and I was going to do this every Saturday for a couple of hours until I found something new. I felt ready and like we had a plan.
My first day back at work after vacation was fairly typical. Before I left for the day my phone rang and it was a woman who was given my name and wanted to talk to me about a position in her department. We talked briefly and agreed to meet the next day for coffee. She admitted the next day that she didn't know much about me so I gave her my resume and we talked about my job history and my goals and she told me about herself. Initially she had planned on hiring another administrative assistant in her department but after speaking with me she changed her mind and wanted to post a position for a supervisor. Wait. WHAT? Is this really happening right now? I was completely stunned. This just fell on my lap. There was no looking. No Saturday's spent at Starbucks. I didn't want to get too excited but lets be serious. I was thrilled. Things moved really quickly. The job officially posted that week, I interviewed and met the staff and got the official offer yesterday.
It is so easy to look back now and say everything happens for a reason but its true. There is a reason why I didn't get promoted within my current department. There is a reason why I never heard back from other jobs I applied for. I wasn't meant to get those positions. I was meant for this. This feels right. I swear I was born to plan things but God laughs at plans. He works in mystery ways and I could not be any happier. Lesson learned: good things come to those who wait!
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