Connie’s Diary – Weeks of Freedom 2 and 3

Week 2 of Freedom:

Projects … projects … projects. After leaving my job at Merill Lynch as Director and Chief Operating Officer for Campus Recruiting, I finally have the time and energy to devote myself to numerous projects that were on the backburner while I was working. First up, decluttering my house.

Today it’s the walk-in closet. I didn’t think that 100 empty hangers could actually fit on my husband’s side of the closet. I wonder if the dry cleaners could use them … got to save the Earth from wire hangers! I found some interesting things on the shelves in there that I had not seen in ages, like my husband’s Movado watch that has been in hiding for two years. I also found some other strange things taking up a lot of room in there, like bags of unmatched socks. Well, they are history!

Next is the paper work piled up in the kitchen – these papers multiply like rabbits! I’m becoming a cleaning tornado and my paper shredder is working overtime. Thank God I’m not working anymore! Why did I wait so long to do this? I’m feeling giddy with all of this spare time and the sense of possibility.


Week 3 of Freedom:

In my third week at home, it’s starting to really hit me that I don’t have to go into the office anymore. So, I thought it would be a good time to make a list of things I love about my new life and things I miss about working …

Things I love about my new life:

  • Getting to the gym every day
  • Cooking healthy foods
  • Eating dinner with my husband like normal people at a normal hour
  • Staying up late on Sunday nights
  • Getting up on Monday and not having to rush to work
  • Fridays … they are always fun whether I’m working or not
  • Waking up any day of the week, and being able to roll over and sleep some more
  • No stockings, no knee highs, no being annoyed that I forgot to go to the dry cleaners the night before
  • My garden, my flowers, my porches
  • Considering which organization to volunteer for next
  • Planning my vacation to Greece in September

Things I miss about working… a little ….

  • Lunches with friends
  • Fun e-mails back and forth with themes that carry on all day
  • Crazy characters at the office
  • People who are very uptight … and laughing a bit about that
  • In January, I will miss that bonus, but freedom is worth quite a bit in the end
  • Finding talented people, placing them in perfect jobs and influencing their lives to a great extent
  • Helping people with the exact piece of information they need and having them appreciate it

Overall, the balance is still in favor of having time off to pursue things I enjoy and have missed out on over the years, but there is a part of me that misses my old life as a power career woman already.

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