A YEAR AGO---

 Today marks my year anniversary of leaving Walgreens.

Wow. An entire year. 

I stayed unemployed for about two months. Two wonderful summer months of freedom. Two months in which nothing much got accomplished. I went to the beach a couple of times, hung out with my sister, did some yard work--not enough yard work, but some. And simply enjoyed the summer.

Unemployment funds last only so long so I took the first job offered to me in which I make about a third of what I was making before. In fact, had I taken the demotion, I still would be making about $5 more an hour than I am now.

But--and this is a big but--there is something to be said about being appreciated. And at that point in my Walgreens phase of life, I wasn't being valued and it messed with my personal psyche.

At my new place of employment--also a retail establishment--I've learned some valuable lessons. Retail is retail is retail. For the corporations, it's all about the bottom line and hours will be cut to make or improve those numbers. Loyalty to employees is a thing of the past. And the people who make the decisions about store hours have probably never even worked in the store. 

If I stay in retail, I'm probably going to find that anywhere. And right now, I enjoy my work, I like the people I work with, and I like my boss. And I am appreciated. So, right now, this is a good fit.

But, now I have the confidence that if this stops being good, I can make another change and it won't destroy me. And if I don't like that change, I can take another leap into the unknown.
 
All-in-all, it's been a good year. And I wouldn't step backwards through that sliding door.