Resurfacing

Since I’m being all bossy you won’t be surprised when I tell you to read part 1 and part 2 before reading this final installment in the trilogy. Don’t worry, I won’t come back in 20 years and add a bunch of prequels.

 

As my doubts about teaching grew, I started reconsidering life in the corporate world. I wasn’t completely against it but I wasn’t feeling sure that it was right either. Late one night (and yes, I tend to make major life decisions when I’m overtired and world-weary) I indulged a whim and changed the address on my resume, testing a theory. Less than a week later, I received a request to interview for a position in Maine. I was giddy with excitement, even though the HR contact warned me they would be moving very slowly (she was telling the truth).

 

At the end of May I woke up one morning and indulged in one of my bad habits: reading email in bed before doing anything else. But I woke up quickly; there was an email from another company in Maine asking about my availability for an interview, with a seemingly-innocuous question at the end: “And just to clarify, you now live in Portland . . . ?” Without meaning to or realizing it, a very pleasant HR professional forced my hand. Still in bed, I went round and round in my head about how best to answer. And then the light bulb came on: I should just decide to move to Maine and answer truthfully that I’m in the process of moving. Which is exactly what I did. As luck would have it, my lease ends on June 30. And everything else fell into place as simply as that, as though something in the cosmos was waiting for me to come to this decision.

 

My feelings about leaving NYC are similar to my feelings about leaving Orange County: I can absolutely see myself coming back here quite happily. Even with a year dedicated largely to getting the most out of this city, I’m still just scratching the surface. But as amazing as this city is, I’m thrilled to finally be heading home.