Thoughts on Upward Movements

People tell me I'm skipping around the office, that I "still have that smile on my face." Maybe I am, maybe they're just now noticing that I'm generally a pretty happy and positive person. Whatever the case, this change is good. The funny thing for me with change is that, I am good with it and not so good with it. I know that feeling will hit at some point, but right now I'm feeling great. This all feels right, this all feels like it is happening how it was supposed to, just 9 months later than I had hoped it would. Okay, all of a sudden this is sounding like an I'm pregnant post, which it isn't.
I've never given notice before and known it was going to be a shock. I have actually only given notice once before and all parties knew it was coming, and knew it was most definitely for the best. In this case, I know it is for the very best for me- but I'm sure my boss feels differently. And the funny thing is, she's treating me better than she ever has before. I guess you don't miss your water, huh?
But this is all fancy speak for telling my dear readers that I'm moving on up, in all senses. I'm taking the step up the ladder I had hoped for after being laid off, I'm going to be working uptown from my present office and I'm taking that blessed pay increase that everyone hopes for.
The woman who will be my new boss reminds me a lot of one of my former bosses, the one I learned the most from. I'm excited about not only being able to push myself to learn and grow in HR, but that I'll have someone cheering me on and coaching me from the sidelines. Something I've missed over the last 2.5 years.

The funny thing for me about careers and career aspirations is that I never really thought I had any. I plugged along for a few years being my typical A-type self and pushing to get all I could out of my work experiences. Little did I know that I was advancing in and creating a career for myself. And now, all of a sudden I've taken this huge and exciting step up and during a recession. Wow. Maybe I am a career woman?

The one thing I am struggling with a little, tiny, teeny bit is that I don't know if I want a "career", I don't know if I want a corner office and a closet full of suits and power lunches and all that jazz. I know that I could have it, and I know that I will most likely get somewhere close in the next 5+ years, and there are so many other things I want too. I want creativity in my life, I want a family that I'm home with more often than not. I'm not going to start getting in to the "you can have it all" discussion, because that's not what this is about. This is about me exploring what I really want to do with my life and my career time.

Right now, this move and this opportunity feels right. Right now, I'm excited and energized and passionate about it. What I have to figure out is, am I feeling these things because it is the path I've been following and the most secure one? Or, are there other things at play? And, in the end I have to remind myself that I can do it all, if I want to. I can do both and maybe not even at the same time and that most certainly is still doing it all.