9 to 5

Sorry I have been MIA for a few weeks. The day after my last post I received word that a dream of mine had finally come true. I am going back to work.

I put my career on hold when I married my husband 8 years ago, and I have been out of work since November 2003, when I left my job to give birth to my daughter. Since then, it has been difficult (actually impossible) to return to work because of resume gaps and having to move around due to my husband's job as a Foreign Service Officer.

I found myself at a dead end in this bad economy, facing another overseas departure and with rusty work skills. I couldn't get a job and I couldn't afford to go back to school. I'm a lawyer and had worked on Capitol Hill, but I couldn't get a large chain bookstore to give me a call back.

A year ago, when I was still in Rome, I signed up to take the Foreign Service Exam. I thought it was my last chance to get a new career where I could continue doing public service and living overseas. I passed the written exam last summer and in February I passed the oral exam. The past few months I have been getting my medical and security clearances. Finally on May 15th I received word that I was being offered a place in the June 22nd Foreign Service Officer training class. I accepted immediately.

Since then I have been trying to cram all sorts of errands into my last weeks as a stay-at-home-mom. I realized I need to find a summer camp for my daughter and plan for after-school care for when she returns to school in the fall. I need to figure out how I will get to work and how she will get to school. I needed to buy a work wardrobe. I have also struggled to find comfortable work shoes. Why does a shoe feel good in the store and is not quite right when you get it home?

My husband and I are constantly talking about how to make this new adventure in my life go smoothly for our daughter. When Abby found out that I got a job she said, "I think there are going to be a lot of changes and I guess I am going to have to drive myself to school." We have tried to reassure her that we still love her and we are going to take care of her. We told her that there will be some small changes for her, she won't be picked up by Mom after school and come home to watch her cartoons, but that I will be facing the biggest changes.

I am excited to meet the challenges ahead of me and to chase and find the elusive work-life balance. I am looking forward to showing my daughter that it's important to never stop chasing your dreams.

Note:  I am going to keep blogging and writing about this new phase in my life.  It's going to take me some time to get back into a posting routine with my new schedule.  In the coming weeks I hope to share with you what it's like to transition back to work, what the State Department's Foreign Service Officer orientation is like, and whether my family will still be going to Senegal next summer.  Please stay tuned and thanks for your support over the past couple of months.