Acceptance

We've decided to move back to my hometown & for me to accept the job offer I've been given.  Since DH was in Canada since Wednesday, we'd only been able to have phone conversations about whether or not to take the leap of faith and accept the job and move.  After making an extensive pro & con list, we decided that the pros did in fact outweigh the cons.  The two biggest cons were leaving our beautiful home & leaving my job (that included telling the bosses).

I talked all weekend with my family & in-laws about whether or not to move & take the job.  Everyone was in agreement that this job would be more dead end down the road, the company would go downhill, my co-designer would leave & I would be unhappy that I missed the opportunity for the job that is currently offered.  

As I drove back from my hometown & the in-laws house today, I thought that this evening would be as good as any to go over to the owners' house & give them the news that I would be putting in my two weeks.  I prayed & asked Jesus to be right beside me holding my hand.  I asked St. Joseph to give me the right words to say, as he was the one who guided his family on the flight to Egypt, so would he watch over our "flight" now.  

A neat thing that I just realized today (nothing like a lightbulb moment!), is that to get to my new job in my hometown, I travel from the main downtown road and turn onto St. Joseph Avenue, which runs right into the building where I will work.   Imagine that.  St. Joseph's patronage & watchful presence wherever I go.  :-)  I do really believe he interceded for bringing Luke into our family, as I have definitely asked his intercession since then more frequently.

I texted M (the boss) and L (his wife) to ask if I could stop by tonight to talk to them.  I wanted to vomit just thinking about telling them and wanted to not even give two weeks notice ... just not show up.  I had DH go over a few lines with me about how to start the conversation & I rehearsed them over and over and over and over for about a half hour & all the way to their house.  I just wanted to get it over with.  L opened the door & led me back to the family room where M was.  She sat down & I sat down. We exchanged a few pleasantries.  Then I said my piece, "Since Luke was born, DH & I have wanted to be closer to family.  We have decided to move back to my hometown in the next few weeks & I wanted to stop by tonight to let you know & to give you my two weeks notice."  

They asked me a few questions, "How, When, Why, is it because of our son taking over?"  All I said was because of family & gave several examples.  They said they understood the reason & that they would miss me both personally & professionally.  They said that the company would be hurt by my leaving & they asked who would organize things if I was gone.  I told them I hadn't talked to anyone about this, not even my fellow designer (which is stretching the truth a bit).  I told them jokingly that BIL would have to come over sooner to take over, to which they said that if BIL came over to help their Son, it would be in the warehouse, not in the office.  Well ... they've got to come up with a plan for that now.  They said that I was like a daughter to them & they hated to see me, DH & Luke leave.  I apologized for leaving through tears, got several hugs from L & left.  The tears were real.  I am truly sorry to leave & for the impact it will have on their business.

The next thing I know is that my fellow designer (who wants to leave ASAP too) texts me and says that M&L want her to come over to their house.  I tell her that I haven't said anything about her wanting to leave.  She is nervous & terrified about what they will talk to her about.  I told her I was praying for her and I have been.  It is hard to be untruthful, but if your heart isn't in the job anymore, it is time to move on.  

Tomorrow, I get to call the manager at my new job & tell them I accept their offer, as well as put in an application on a rental house.  It is both nerve-wracking and exciting to be moving forward with a new job & city, leaving everything I've known for eight years behind.

** UPDATE:  So I called my friend, the designer who works with me, to ask how her conversation with M&L went.  She was there for an hour and forty five minutes!  They apparently were blindsided by my leave.  She gave me the info that when M&L told their son I was leaving, all he said was "I figured she would, it is no big deal."  Oooohhhh, I am so mad!  I'm glad I'm leaving.  He doesn't know what he's missing!