Giving Thanks

It's been a crazy, hectic, fun and tiring week - but we sure have a lot to be thankful for. I'm thankful that my parents agreed to watch the kids so that Chuck & I could have a date night to celebrate my new job! We went to this crazy thing called Monkey Town 6 which is a 4-course meal served in a movie cube with performance art and wine. I'm thankful that Aurora has great friends like Presley, who we got to spend the morning with yesterday. We're all thankful that my parents got a new dog this week! Finley is a calm and sweet little guy and we love him already. I'm thankful that Aurora did the Turkey Trot with me this year!!! She ran the kids race, then the family did crafts and ate snacks while they waited for me to finish the 5-mile run. It was rainy, hilly, and crowded but I'm certainly thankful for the ability to run this great city. I'm thankful for my dear friend Carmen who passed away this year, but left us with a wonderful tradition of having Thanksgiving with her family. The food was fantastic and everybody had a great time. The weather even cleared up in time for the girls to swim!

And, I'm thankful to have a few more days off with the family before settling into my new work routine (nothing like starting during a short week!). My legs are tired, my belly is full, and my heart is happy.

Identity

I have to say, the hardest thing about losing my job wasn't the actual losing of the job. It was losing my identity as a longtime LIVESTRONG employee. I felt incredibly connected to the mission, the people, the whole idea of everything LIVESTRONG stood for. I noticed that when people asked me what I did, I said I worked for LIVESTRONG or that I worked in nonprofit - I didn't typically lead with the fact that I worked in HR or managed volunteers and interns. While I was unemployed I had to figure out how to say what I actually did for work and what types of jobs I was looking for, which required me to think about my work in a different way and imagine a wider world of opportunities that I hadn't considered. After much consideration, I decided that I didn't want to continue in nonprofit, but I wasn't particularly interested in most for-profits either. That lead me to search for a new role in the public sector. I was applying for jobs in education but the role I ended up with came in the form of local government. So, this week I started my new position as an HR Specialist focusing on Recruitment for Travis County.

I had to go to jail to get that ID card! The location is good, the salary was right, and the job duties should play to my strengths and give me an opportunity to learn about a whole new segment of the workforce. I hope I'll love this new identity as much as I loved the last one because they also offer great retirement benefits!

Friendship

This week has been full of highlights, but the main highlight was joining Clark for his classroom's Friendship Feast. They've been focusing on friendship and giving thanks this week at school and it is so sweet to see him interact with his teachers and little otter friends. The potluck lunch was pretty good, too!

Earlier in the week my parents came over with dinner and we all sat at the dining room table together eating tacos. Aurora decided that it was the perfect setting for us to go around the table and say what we're most thankful for. I didn't think Clark was really paying attention or comprehended what she was saying, so I was a little surprised when it was his turn and he jumped right in with "I'm most thankful for TIGERS!" Then at school today, I found this hanging on the wall. Amazing.

Aurora said she's thankful to be alive, because she has a good life. It's true! And of course, my parents were thankful to be with us (the feeling is mutual!). I'm thankful to be starting a new job on Monday. I hope I made a good choice in terms of my next career move... but, I'm going to make you wait until next week to find out more! The past 7-weeks have been strange and stressful, relaxing and emotional, but I am so grateful to have had the time to deepen so many friendships through coffee meetings, lunches, walking and running dates. I will miss having so much freedom in my weekdays but would not change anything about these past 2-months. I'm thankful for all of it, and all of you! 

Passion for Fashion

We just turned in Aurora's GT (Gifted & Talented) project, which is titled "Passion for Fashion." She drew 10 dresses inspired by nature and then explored what it would take to become a fashion designer. It's a really cute project (I should've taken pictures!). She's also done extensive testing and there were parent and teacher assessments. I hope she gets in! At the same time, I've been interviewing and working on my wardrobe. I've taken pictures of a few of my new clothes and interview outfits. They are nothing like Aurora's designs, but I'm loving my new looks. 

In other news, my parents are back in town! They came just in time, as Clark wasn't feeling well and I needed them to watch him while I went to an interview and a happy hour. Both went great and I'm so glad I didn't have to move or miss them (thanks Mom & Dad!). This weekend we went to a birthday party with the most awesome face painter EVER. Clark was still recuperating so we left early, but not before this happened:

We won't know whether Aurora will get into the GT program for a few more weeks, but I should know if I have a job offer this afternoon. I have one more big week of coffee and lunch meetings, long walks and running dates, and then who knows - I could start working again as early as next Monday!

Above and Beyond

It's been another eventful week for the Wadey family! On Saturday we went to Home Depot for a special Veterans Day Kid's workshop. Aurora and Chuck made a Marine Corp airplane while Clark and I made a Blue Angels Navy plane. On Sunday we took off to Austin's brand new Planetarium where we learned about stars and space shapes. Their children's programming was fantastic. I was afraid Clark would have trouble sitting still, but he didn't want the show to end!

Such a fun experience! This week I did a little exploring of my own and found that we have a $2 movie theater just north of Austin. It only plays second run movies, but the only movie I wanted to see in the theater was "Everest," based on the book "Into Thin Air," which I recently read. I remember that 1996 expedition well. We were living up in Seattle and Chuck had designed t-shirts for Doug Hansen, one of the climbers on that fatal climb. I'm not the kind of person to just go see a movie on my own in the middle of the day, but it was fantastic (and really sad).

On a happier note, this morning Aurora got an award at school! I'm so glad she got this award during my time off so that I could go and enjoy it without having to rush off to work afterwards. Clark even came with me! He and Aurora waved at each other nearly the whole time she was on stage.

Her award is for being EXPRESSIVE and says "Aurora goes above and beyond to include descriptive details in both her writing and her artwork. In doing so, she is able to convey her message in a creative and expressive way. Keep it up!" We are so proud of her.

Staying Busy

I haven't been taking pictures of most of the meetings and errands I've been running lately, but I have been staying VERY busy. Earlier this week I went to a summit on recruiting trends at a local college, then spent the evening at a yearend networking event with the Austin Leading Ladies group I've been involved with for several years.

I've been networking, building my career wardrobe and sending out resumes, but lately I've started to focus on finding more fun and relaxing ways to spend my days. Last week's painting class was cancelled so I tried again yesterday and ended up painting with six women who were celebrating a 77th birthday. It was a surprise party and they included me in the festivities! The cake was delicious and the painting was so much fun.

Today I attended a Veteran's Day assembly at Aurora's school, met up with a volunteer for coffee, upgraded our iPhones, had lunch with some old coworkers, went to yoga, and even picked up the kids a little early. Clark has been doing an AMAZING job potty training and Aurora just came home with these awesome school pictures! What a gorgeous girl.

This week I also had my most promising interview yet and I'm feeling pretty good about my job prospects. Now that I'm finding so much to do, I'm not very worried about it!

Incredible!

We had such a fun Halloween trick-or-treating at the Hill Country Galleria. I've never dressed us in matching costumes before and I must say, the Incredibles were a hit.

Believe it or not, the costumes were Clark's idea. He wanted to be Dash! Aurora loved dressing up as Violet, though she would've preferred having straight black hair. I think she looks great!!! Happy Halloween from our Incredible little family to yours. 

Awesome and Disappointing

This week has been the strangest combination of awesome and disappointing. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous, I took 3 long walks with friends and signed up for 2-weeks free at a beautiful yoga studio. I also registered for a painting class - but it was cancelled, and I had an interview on the calendar but it was pushed back a week. I've been incredibly productive and still have plenty to do - lots of work around the house, errands to run, and several networking events and professional development opportunities coming up. I like to stay busy and have been avoiding lazy days at home. Of course, my incredible kiddos always keep me on my toes. Tuesday we went to Halloween story time at the Westbank Library and tonight was a superhero themed Fall Festival at Clark's preschool.

Clark just started wearing undies, which means that sweet little Dash costume had to go straight into the laundry (along with a bag clothes from school) as soon as we got home. He also asked for a big boy bed. You would think this is a great time for me to focus on these things, but honestly I feel like I have enough on my mind without it! Hopefully next week's interview will be awesome and I'll have just enough time to get everything done before heading back to work. But, I suppose I wouldn't be too disappointed if I had to stay unemployed until the new year....

Socktober

All month long Valley View has been collecting socks for the homeless as part of what they're calling Socktober. Today I had lunch with my good friend Kelsey and she donated a huge bag of socks to us (Aurora will be thrilled!). Lately there have been a TON of activities at Aurora's school and I have been able to participate in every single one. On Tuesday I volunteered at the book fair and today was the HIGHLIGHT of Socktober, the Sock Hop! I helped hand out snacks at the end.

We also just had Parent/Teacher conferences and Mrs. Stueve encouraged me to have her tested for the Gifted & Talented program. She said Aurora is off the chart when it comes to reading and comprehension, plus she's creative, expressive, and amazing at helping her friends understand their work and participate in conversations.

I asked Aurora if it she thought it was weird that I was spending so much time at school because I don't have a job, and she said "No Mommy, I think it's kind of awesome!" I've always made an effort to be present and participate, but it's a balancing act for sure. When I first started thinking about my next potential job, I had this idea that the most important thing was for it to be another nonprofit that Aurora could get involved with and feel as proud of me as she has in the past. Then last weekend we went shopping at Target and she saw the "NOW HIRING" sign and blurted out "Look Mommy! Wouldn't it be AWESOME if you worked at Target!?" I realize now that I was probably setting the bar too high and thinking about the process all wrong. Aurora will be proud of me no matter what I do, but she will be happiest if I can find a job that gives me the flexibility to participate in school activities. I've been looking for things that are closer to home and even applied for a job in her school district, but I believe the best career move will most likely involve a commute and normal business hours. Regardless, we will enjoy this time off - whether it lasts for a few weeks or a few months. So far, Soctober at Valley View has been awesome.

Challenge

After two weeks of networking, volunteering, taking classes, writing cover letters, going to appointments and parenting, I'm starting to settle into this strange new life of unemployment. Finding a job is definitely my full-time job right now and it's exhausting, but I am open to whatever comes next. It was very important to Aurora that we still go to the LIVESTRONG Challenge this weekend. After all, she helped design the shirts!

I knew it would be good for me to participate and see friends, but going to the office for packet pick up was hard. I was planning on jogging the 5K with my friend Megan, but at the last minute I decided I had something to prove and thought I should just run as fast as I could. I didn't really have to prove anything to anyone, but it sure felt good. Aurora and Melody enjoyed the ride, but it was clear that they were in it for the snacks!

Afterwards the kids went to the movies and my friend Melissa came over to provide me with a personalized wardrobe consultation. She advised me on interview outfits and helped me get rid of 5 BAGS OF CLOTHING, as well as 2 more bags that I'll try to sell to a consignment shop. She's also sending me a list of the basic items I need to buy to round out my wardrobe. It was great. I had NO IDEA I had so many old, outdated, worn out clothes and I will admit that we got rid of a LOT of yellow t-shirts. Tomorrow I have a phone call with a resume expert and Tuesday I have my first phone interview. Things are moving right along! It's still a challenge and I wanna go fast! But I'm trying to relax and enjoy the process.

Barton Hill Farms

The kids didn't have school today so we met up with friends at Barton Hill Farms for some pumpkin patch fun. It's still just a little too hot in Austin but we arrived early and took advantage of every activity they had to offer. Clark loved saying hello to the animals, Aurora enjoyed painting a pumpkin, and everybody was excited to ride the cow train!

The coolest part was the maze. They reserved a tiny section for kids with signs at every corner telling the story of Spookley the pumpkin. Aurora read aloud to the boys and they were excellent listeners. We could've easily spent another hour navigating our way through the larger maze (and getting lost in the process), but even Aurora thought that was probably not a great idea. Now, if only we could have some fall weather to match with the fall festivities... 

Going Strong

I've been emailing with Julian this week and he said that he likes to keep his blog posts positive, even when times are tough. I think that's a good policy, so I'll start by wishing Julian a VERY happy birthday! I know you haven't been blogging quite as often lately but I hope you keep it up. I'm so glad we've found such a cool way to stay up to date with each other's lives. Can you imagine if we had to pick up the phone and call each other?

Now, let's all work together to keep the second part of this post positive as well. Today I spent the morning sifting through almost a decades worth of cards, notes, books, craft supplies, photos and gifts from my old cube at work. After nearly 10 years, my time with the LIVESTRONG Foundation has come to an end.

I feel very fortunate to have had such a long and fulfilling career at the Foundation, and I know that the programs I ran and the work we contributed made a difference every day. I made so many lasting friendships and had the opportunity to work with some of the most dedicated volunteers and talented nonprofit leaders in the industry.

I recently registered for this cool thing called "Marathon in a Month" and tweeted the photo above as a way to spread the word to my friends and colleagues. I wanted to post this picture as it's the last photo I took at the Foundation, and it was taken right next to my desk. I've had a few days to work on my resume, connect with old friends, relax and clear my mind, and I've been getting more involved with Aurora's school, scheduling appointments, networking, exercising, and finding all kinds of meetings and volunteer opportunities throughout the city. I'm going to take my time to find a great new job that I will love as much as I've enjoyed my career up until now. My goal is to stay in the nonprofit sector where I can continue empowering students, volunteers, and organizations to make a difference.

I'd like to say a heartfelt thank you to everybody who contributed to my efforts over the years. I will always be a fan of the Foundation as they continue to innovate in the cancer space, and we will be at the LIVESTRONG Challenge next weekend to show our support from the sidelines. Now, let the new adventures begin!