Simply Irene

So it has been a week since I got the laid off, and guess what?

I am not out grinding, hustling, or sending 200 applications like some inspirational LinkedIn story. Nope. I barely dipped my feet into the job search. Perhaps just the toes. Like testing if the pool water is cold, then deciding, “eh, maybe later.”

It turns out, after working nonstop for 10 years, my brain does not know what to do with itself when I am not glued to a laptop or rushing to answer an email. How do people do this? Because I keep waking up with this panicked “oh no, I’m late” feeling, and then remember, oh right, I literally have nowhere to be. That part is taking some adjusting.

I did scroll through a few job boards, bookmarked a couple listings, and even completed 21 applications throughout the week before closing the laptop like, “yeah, we’ll revisit this tomorrow.” Spoiler: I didn’t revisit it tomorrow. Or the next day. Baby steps, okay?

The bright spot of the week was that my daughter came down from college for the Labor Day holiday weekend. Having her around gave me a good distraction and reminded me that life outside of looking for work should, in fact, exist. We laughed, hung out, and for a day shopping. I wasn’t stressing about my next paycheck. I was just a mom enjoying time with her kid.

For now, I’m learning how to sit still, how to not check my inbox 40 times a day, and how to exist without a calendar full of meetings that could have bee

n emails. Instead, I’ve filled my days with cooking all of my meals (so long Uber, hello Hungryroot), crafting, and buying fall decorations. Weirdly enough, not working is harder than working. Who knew?

So week one of my journey to getting hired has been less “journey” and more “staring at the trailhead wondering if I packed enough snacks.”

By the numbers: 21 applications, 2 rejections

How are you all doing?

Deuces.

–Irene