When I finally put in that two-weeks notice, I was floating on this nice little cloud, high above the world, happy with my decision and feeling like I could do no wrong. Like Andrea of So Over Debt put it, it was the first good nights sleep I’d gotten in quite a while. And, of course, for the two weeks that I was still working, I stayed on that cloud, anticipating that last day, and the end to my tenure at that employer.
As those two weeks went by, I went from anticipating the day, to downright demanding it came faster. As more and more of my tasks were transferred to temporary replacements, and I packed more and more of the stuff off of my desk, I began to think about all the things I could be doing at home, at my computer, with this site, and my other sites. It was torture!
At the end of those two weeks, I nearly ran for the door! I was already filled with ideas of what I would write the next day, the things I would do, and the changes I could make. Little did I know that I had a bit of a different path planned. You see, I woke up early the next morning, with the flu. Yep. I spent my entire first day of self employment with the flu. The following day, I was well enough to at least sit at my desk, but being productive was almost certainly out of the question.
One of the things that I decided, early on in this adventure, was that the income from this and other sites wasn’t going to be enough to make up the difference, or even to make a dent in it. I would have to get a part-time job in order to help pay the bills, while I built the sites up to a reasonable income level. I already had a lead on one, so the first full week of self-employment, I went and met with the owner and we worked out some details, and I started last Thursday. The part-time income from that should help with the bills. I’ll get a bit less done on my sites, as I’ll be working three days a week, but it was something that I felt/feel was necessary in order to keep some constant money coming in while I work on building other things.
Now, a full week and a half after I quit, and the holidays rushing in on us, somethings are coming back into focus. I’ve always gotten a bit worked up about finances. That’s why I created this site, after all. So, knowing that we lost over half of our income and will only be able to constantly replace about 1/3 of that income immediately, has me a bit stressed. My wife want’s to do some holiday shopping, and my natural instinct is to shut off all of that, and “give hugs” this Christmas. It’s caused a bit of friction, but I’m sure we’ll figure it out.
I’m recovering. From the high of quitting my job. From the flu. From stressing entirely too much over money. From a lot of things. Such a major life change is bound to require some recovery period, and I am confident that I’ll come out the other side. There’s just a few bumps in the road. What an adventure!
