Staff Decorating Day

I used to work on staff at my church.  I loved my job; it fit my skill sets and interests quite well.  I enjoyed working with my boss and the fellow employees assigned to the same projects as me.  They are wonderful people.  There were certain challenges and job tasks I didn't love, as there is with any job, but it was still a wonderful job.  I had a lot of personal job satisfaction.

When I found out I was pregnant with Happy (surprise!), it was quite a laborious (pun, yes) decision for me to figure out if I would keep working.

In my heart, I knew I wanted to be home with any kids we had.  My husband also felt that way.  We agreed on this before even marrying. But it was quite the emotional process for me to relinquish both the monetary incentive and personal/professional satisfaction found in working at a paying job.

After having Happy, my boss allowed me to work part time from home.  It was an incredible blessing to be able to do so.  Eventually, a few months before Lil Miss was due, I officially left that job.  It was bittersweet.  I was afraid I would regret it.

Though I missed the job, I was very happy with the change, as was Hubs.  I was happy to discover that I didn't regret the decision even though I did miss the job.

One of my most favorite things while being on staff was decorating the church for Christmas.  It was kind of like field day in elementary school-a break from the normal day to day that got you out of class.  Plus, I loved the decorations and just doing something more active than sitting at a desk.  I enjoyed interacting with people I normally didn't see or work with (the staff is large, so there are many people you don't see often).  I always looked forward to that day. 

On Tuesday, I had something to do at the church.  As I pulled into the parking lot, I noticed more cars than usual in the parking lot.  I didn't think much of it, but as I was walking into the church, I realized it was staff decorating day. 

A flood of nostalgic emotions came over me.  I was happy to see previous coworkers that I don't often see at church.  I have sweet memories of past staff decorating days.  It was on one staff decorating day that I first "met" my friend Nicole who is especially dear to me.

But, the extra sweet thing within all of these feelings was knowing where I am in life (without a paying job, but staying home with the kids) was right where I needed to be. 

It was a blessed feeling amidst the missing of things past.