Life has whoooooshed by so rapidly these past few weeks I forgot to acknowledge that fivenineteen turned 5 last month.  FIVE!!  Holy smokes…launching this blog back in September 2009 seems like a lifetime ago.  So much has changed…for the better.  I’m back to work (goddamn that 2009-2010 era sucked), I’m in the best shape of my life at age 47, and just so much more happy and confident.  Content.  Calm.  Balanced.  YES.

But it hasn’t come without conscious effort to make changes for the better.  And I’ve had a lot of great help, support and coaching along the way.  Nobody does it alone…that is one of the themes that drives me and how I choose to live my life.  And it feels good to know your Truth.

There have been struggles for sure.  Most recently, getting abruptly cut from my contracting job last May put me in a tailspin.  Thankfully not a severe one, for our job market is a lot stronger than it was 5 years ago, and I’d already built up a lot of great habits thanks to the Lean Eating for Women coaching I’d been working through the past 10 months or so.  I could have easily said fuck it and sabotaged myself, wallowing in my sudden state of unemployment and drowning myself in too much food and plopping my sorry butt on the couch.  But nope, the discipline was there to keep on going.  “Keep on going…” the wise words of encouragement I hear so often from my Dad.  I love it.

In a warped way, I could say that Manager who cut me from my job (for reasons I’ll never know) did me a favor. I hate to give out credit to someone I have zero respect for or reason to emulate but I think it’s partially true.  It lit a fire in me.  It made me realize I’d come to the end of an era and it was time to take a leap and jump into something different career-wise.  Meaning, searching for a place to hang my hat…and get off the eight-year contractor merry-go-round.

So while I was happy to land a new position mere weeks after losing my previous job, I knew they weren’t my Tribe for the long haul.  GREAT team though.  Really wonderful, hard-working people.  But the networking wheels were in motion, and another great opportunity was already whirling around.

And it surfaced.  And it happened.  And I couldn’t be happier.  Last week I started a brand new full-time, permanent job in a field I’ve always wanted to work in.  And I’m doing the kind of work I’ve grown to love over nearly 14 (!) years…and I’m back to working in downtown Seattle again.  I’ve found a wonderful new team to collaborate with.  You can feel the warmth the minute you step off the elevator.  I’m not kidding.  I’m no energy expert, but I’m very sensitive to the vibes an office space or home gives off when I step inside.  Maybe I’ll blog more about that later.

What a shift!  I haven’t worked in Seattle proper in (gulp) 17 years.  And while things are still new and gelling, I’m really enjoying my new commute.  I’m lucky to be mere minutes away from a park & ride lot which has quite a few buses heading into Seattle throughout the morning.  Now, sure, in time this will get to be a routine and maybe even a grind when the weather turns crappy and it gets darker earlier, but for now I’m savoring it.  Some people asked me if I was going to commute in by car and I said absolutely NO WAY.  I’m not going to slowly chip away at the physical and mental improvements I’ve made over the past year by killing myself with a grueling drive in traffic, a toll bridge and expensive downtown parking.  Nope, rather I can meditate on the bus, take a nap or play with my phone.  Ahhh.

Now it’s time to head out to the lake and enjoy the gloriously sunny early Fall weather.