A New Adventure

At the end of August, I walked out the door of The Washington Post buildings for the last time in nearly a dozen years there. It was with trepidation, but with an internal knowledge that the only way for me to move forward, to find my new path, was to leave.

It was, to say the least, a risky decision in the midst of a recession. And it was one that wasn't made lightly. My husband and I experimented not living with my salary for a year, putting it all into savings. The Post, in case you haven't heard, isn't the best place for a Web journalist to be these days. Many of my good friends and colleagues left before me. More have been unofficially cut this past month. Journalism is the kind of job that can beat you down and wear you out. I survived newspapers and their Web sites for 18 years, a lifetime in that profession. But there's a reason I call myself a "recovering journalist."

The question, though, became, now what? What was it that I really wanted to do? I'm lucky. I realize that. I could take a break, spend valuable time with my kids, getting the youngest acclimated to kindergarten, getting the 2nd grader on a good homework path. I spent time teaching one to ride a bike. We went to Spanish class together. We formed a walk-to-school group with other neighborhood kids. The boys learned to climb fences to the backyards of other friends. We read. We played. We hosted impromptu play dates after school. I cooked -- a lot. I found a calm that I never knew existed. All of a sudden, I didn't need to multitask 24 hours a day. I didn't need to start my day answering e-mail and posting blogs the moment I woke up. Instead, I could give lots of morning hugs without worrying about being late to something. I didn't need to rush the boys into bed if they wanted to read for an extra 15 minutes, just so I could spend another 2-3 hours on the computer working.

There's no question that life's been busy. But it hasn't been crazy. And it turns out, that busy, not crazy, is what I've been looking for.

A couple of months ago, I spotted a job posting that seemed like a good fit. The timing was horrible. I saw the posting just as I was heading to Boston for the unveiling of the plaque on my mother's grave. By the time I returned from the trip, which unexpectedly got extended by a day because of snow, I had less than two days to write out a resume and answer tons of essay questions for it -- those of you who have applied to government jobs can totally understand the craziness. For those who haven't, applying for a government job is like writing a bunch of college essays.

Much to my surprise, I made it through the screening, got called for an interview and eventually received a job offer.

The quiet around here the past couple of weeks isn't because I wanted to abandon you. It's because I start my new job on Jan. 4 and, well, I needed an ENTIRELY new work wardrobe. A decade of not shopping for formal work clothes finally caught up with me. Plus, I needed to get a TON of things done before I begin the juggle anew.

I truly think Montgomery County parents need more places that give parents useful information that makes their lives easier. D.C. Urban Mom is a decent community, but it's too anonymous, with too many trolls. A few local communities, like Silver Spring and Takoma Park, have yahoo listservs stuck in the early 1990s that reach way too few in our overall community. I'd hoped to launch communities and amazingly intricate databases of day cares, preschools, classes, camps and such that you, our community of parents, could talk about to help the next parent down the line. Unfortunately, a job that at the moment seems like a really good fit has come calling.

And so, it's time for me to give it a go. Wish me luck!

Happy New Year's everyone.