Have You Ever Had That Experience When You Turn On Your Kid's Phone, And They've Been Taking Selfies, So The Camera Is On Already And The First Thing You See Is A Mega- Close Up Of Your Face? I Swear It Almost Stops My Heart Sometimes. TMI, Miss Girl.

Almost as sobering is putting together a resume after a 17 year quiet period in your job search.  And yet, I sat down and cranked one out the other day and emerged from the process relatively unscathed.  I had no intention to create a resume this early on in my quest for future employment - I had held resume development right up there with swim suit shopping - I knew I'd have to do it eventually, but I kept putting it off hoping the next time I tried, things would look different.  They didn't.  I only ended up forcing my way through this task because I thought I'd found the perfect job for me.  It wasn't perfect, but I thought it sounded fun.  And based upon the bullet pointed job requirements, I was fully qualified.  Which is really saying something - trust me.

I made it to the phone interview process and was eliminated after only the second question.  They wanted to know about my availability.  Looking back, I would have asked what kind of availability the job required, but I foolishly babbled on about wanting to find something that would fit in with my life and that my kids still required my attention, but less than before, but also that I could be flexible sometimes, just not all the time and blah, blah, blah.  Clearly, it's been a while since I've been interviewed.  Very rookie mistake - but the truth.  The interviewer in all her 20-something glory said that didn't fit with the job requirements and maybe I should check out some temporary jobs with them this summer.  I spent the rest of the day in a bit of a funk, but bounced back later thanks to time and a glass of wine and a supportive family and Oprah.

My spontaneous jumping into a job search surprised me a bit - I mean, part of me thought I was only in the conceptual stage at this point.  I certainly don't expect to find anything soon, but I read something that made me realize I can't just sit around waiting for the doorbell to ring.  A guy had been asking God over and over again to let him win the lottery.  It never happened no matter what kind of offering the guy made.  Finally, as the man was wailing in exasperation, God spoke and told him to buy a lottery ticket.  Please. So I view my newly crafted resume as a lottery ticket of sorts.  There are no guarantees I'll find the perfect thing (although I have a strong suspicion I can), but I'm not going to get anywhere without a resume.

At this stage, I'm cooling my jets and resting on my resume-creating laurels a bit - I mean, that was a zero to 60 week for me in the career search, right?  And we have two kids playing Varsity for the first time ever, so I'll be doing everything I can to make sure I am at those games.  We don't get these days back, so rather than bemoan the fact that I don't have any leads when it comes to my job search right now (I do have a resume ready to go at a moment's notice #stepone) - I'm going to consciously enjoy the luxury of not having to juggle my desire to be there for my kids' events while establishing myself in a new job at this point.  Glass half-full, thank you very much.

I'm off to volunteer at my weekly food bank sesh.  Talk about perspective.

gratitude:  Oprah's book, Things I Know For Sure, black turtlenecks, red wine vinegar chips, blue pens

Enjoy this photo of Otis.  It was taken in the aftermath of a vicious battle between him and his new stuffed pig.  Otis emerged the victor, but it clearly took something out of each of them.

thanks and love.