It's the end of the world...

...as I know it, anyway. I quit my job yesterday.

WHAT?!?!

I know, that was kind of my reaction too. It's true, though. After spending more than 7 years working for the Walton College at my beloved alma mater, I have announced my departure, effective at the end of August.

I figure that most people who are reading this have already heard this news, but I'll give a brief rundown of the story for those who haven't. First, to answer the question everyone immediately asks when they hear that I'm quitting, NO--I'm not pregnant. It's not nearly as dramatic as all that. In fact, it's actually kind of hard to explain. I've never let that stop me, though!

Several months ago, Matt and I became increasingly aware of how thinly stretched our lives are. We struggle constantly to balance our work lives with our responsibilities to our family. Now that Abby is old enough to be involved in different activites and need different things from her parents, it's a challenge to make sure we do it right. Ethan is right on her heels. The rare times that we are all home together, we face a mountain of housework and "family maintenance" (school notes, appointment scheduling, clean clothes) that keep us from being able to do simple things like read to the kids or even eat dinner at the same time.

Once we recognized the problem, we did the only thing we believe we could do--we prayed. We prayed and prayed and prayed, and asked God to show us a very specific path if He meant for us to make a big life change. Well, He might as well have walked us through a football stadium it was so clear. Everything, and I mean everything, has pointed towards me leaving my job to make my family my main focus. And so yesterday I took my supportive, wonderful boss Karen, who has become a good friend and mentor, to lunch to tell her that I'm leaving the only real job I've ever had. No stress there.

Karen and the rest of my co-workers have been wonderful. I could not have asked for a more uplifting mix of sadness at my departure and support and joy for my future. I'm glad that I still have a few months to spend with these friends.

I have been so caught up in announcing my decision to the world that I haven't let my mind wander much past August. My life is going to be completely different. Suzy Homemaker I am NOT. But now, I have to figure out a way to at least channel her every once in a while. It's a challenge I'm up for. It's hard to be anything but excited about a change this big since I feel certain that I am following God's plan for my life and it means getting to spend more time with my children. I guess it really is the end of the world as I know it, but I feel fine.