Starting a new chapter

Today was my last day of work at the Jewish Association on Aging. This was my second "real" job, and one that I held for two years. From the start, it was a job that I took because I couldn't find a journalism job, and it was never a job that I planned to stay with for more than a year or two. So, I am glad to be moving on, but grateful that I have been gainfully employed for the last two years, and that I was able to have a job that was basically pleasant, and which gave me the satisfaction of participating in the work of an organization that does good, concrete things for people who need help.

Today was bittersweet -- busier than I expected with lots of loose ends that still needed to be tied up -- I am happy to be moving on, but will miss a lot of the people I worked with. I also realized today that I became very invested in some of the projects I worked on, and it is strange to think of someone taking my place and doing "my" work.

On the other hand, I feel very liberated. After two years of feeling creatively stifled, I am so excited to be returning to what I feel is my "calling." I met last week with my new boss, and I got the sense that I will be in a position to really influence the direction of the paper, and will also have plenty of opportunities to do the reporting and writing I love so much. I feel like a part of brain and my psyche which have been dormant for a while are reawakening now, and it feels so good.

Because I've worked for a newspaper before, I know there will be plenty of days that I'll feel too tired to write, but will have to anyway, and that there will be lots of uncomfortable politics to contend with, both inside and outside the office. But I also think that this is a wonderful opportunity both to exercise my journalism skills, and to serve my community. First assignment: this Sunday I get to interview Cameron Kerry!, John Kerry's brother, who will be in town to meet with local Jewish leaders. How cool is that? First day on the job -- I'm a little bit nervous, and I hardly believe it's real.

I like to believe that things work out for a reason, and I find it particularly interesting that my last day at my old job was a couple of days before Rosh Hashana, and that my first day at the new job is just a couple of days into the New Year. New year, new chapter in my life. The timing is just dripping with symbolism.

And, it is also fitting that I am getting started with this blog at this time of transition in my life (though I hope I'm not already boring you with details of my life). Thanks so much to all of you who have already visited this blog. I had sorted of hoped to be quietly posting for a while before announcing that I was out in the blogosphere, though it has been rather flattering to be "visited" by friends, strangers, and relatives alike (Yay Freedman cousins!). I sort of feel like I was talking very candidly to a friend, not realizing that a whole group of people was standing behind me, listening to the whole conversation. All of a sudden I turned around, and there you were -- and you were smiling and nodding your heads. Thanks for being there. I won't make any promises about posting frequently, but I hope to get into some sort of a rhythm of posting.