“so what do you do?”

The answer to this question is going to be increasing hard for me starting today.  August 6th marks the end of my second maternity leave and the beginning of my “creative break” as I’ve liked to call it thus far.

A few months ago when we were having one of those negative forty degree days, Devang and I made a list of warmer cities were we could potentially live without having to bundle ourselves in coats for more than half the year.  Portland – OR, Nashville – TN, Washington – DC, were among the few cities that made it on the list.  But because we love Chicago so much and because I was going to have our second baby soon, the list stayed put as an after thought. As it turned out though, opportunity came knocking when least expected.  Even before the weather had a chance to turn and bring us one of those magical Chicago summers, it was clear that a great job was waiting for Devang in North Carolina if he was up for it.  Needless to say, Devang accepted and here we are – leaving our beloved Chicago for a new home in Raleigh, NC.

This massive change has brought me spurts of panic, spontaneous tears, sadness, but eventual hope and excitement for what awaits in the new city – a yard for the kids to play, a short drive to the grandparents and cousins, warmer winters, closeness to our alma matre.  It has also brought with it a chance for me to focus on all the creative things I always wish I was doing.  Ideas that have sat on the back burner because the days weren’t long enough, because I was too tired after work, or because it was easy to ignore them and say now was not the time.

It is rather difficult to resurrect full-time creativity after spending so many years working in the corporate world. My brain wasn’t/isn’t quite ready to process the fact that starting today I have the freedom to do whatever I please without the constraints of a 9-to-5 job.  It’s like someone just handed me a magic lamp with unlimited wishes.  Except I am also the genie that will make things happen.

I am looking forward to reevaluating my life and being productive doing things I love to do.  This will include more writing, more cooking, more traveling, more reading, more of being a supporting wife and mother, basically unleashing the “more” in everything good out there.  And if the adage – when you do what you love, you never work a day in your life – is true I will hopefully also find my next career in all of this.

So cheers to today and cheers to the rest of my life – may it be everything I always dreamed of and more.