When bad events happen in your life you can be sure you'll hear the words "These things happen for a reason," but it's not until well after the dust settles that you begin to understand why.
I had anticipated losing my job for more than a year - and I would panic each time I thought about being laid off - wondering how I would react to the news and what I would do without a job. But mostly I was just hoping I wouldn't cry in the office when they "came for me." And I wasn't ready to leave my job. I was one of those employees that actually liked their job. Of course there were a few difficult moments, but I was never nervous/anxious or stressed about work.
So, after I received a call from my boss on the morning of January 7 telling me there was a "meeting" and to "prepare kiddo, I don't think it's good news for any of us," I knew what was about to take place. I picked out my final-day-at-the-office outfit, stopped at Starbucks for my last-morning-coffee-at-the-office and calmly strolled into work.
I had (unfortunately) imagined this moment for months - sitting in a room while someone told me that they could no longer keep me on staff - but I didn't picture myself smiling while they were saying it. I'm still not sure why I was so upbeat, especially after months of watching my co-workers escorted out the door - and believed I would be a total cry baby when my time came.
I finally felt free from the stress of worrying about my job, and even though I didn't have any immediate plans for my time off, I knew something great was on the horizon.
A few weeks later, just as I was starting to wonder what I was supposed to be doing with all this extra time on my hands, a phone call from my sister changed my focus. "I wish you could come to Nepal," she said.
