Day One

Okay, I know that Day One theoretically came nearly a month ago, when I left behind the 3+ hour daily commute, but in fact there were a lot of loose ends to wrap up. Yesterday, I finally sent off the last of the miscellaneous projects I had hanging over my head, and this morning I received my first paycheck from my new job. So as of today, finally, I have just one job and a regular income. And thank goodness, because there is a world of work to be done just to get started on that normal life you've been hearing so much about.

I started today dismantling my dining area and reformulating it into half dining area/half office space. I'm expecting this whole working from home thing to go much more smoothly with dedicated work space, and we really didn't need seating for six in the dining room when there are only two of us eating here.

Since I haven't exactly been the most dedicated housekeeper over the past two years, though, every little change requires a lot of extra steps. Taking the leaf out of my dining room table, for instance, means finding a new home for the stacks of paper that have long resided on the unused end of the table. Moving the table means a rude awakening about the previously unrecognized need to move it when I sweep and mop--it's got a big, solid oval base that I was under the mistaken impression sat flat on the floor. Apparently, it's raised JUST ENOUGH to suck in crumbs and dust and hide them from view until some poor unsuspecting woman rearranges the furniture.

So all in all, it's very slow going. But at least it's finally going. For the first time in as long as I can remember, I'm free to do something around my house on the weekend without thinking that there are other things I "really should be working on". And the "really should be" sensation has been a powerful negative force in my life for a long time, so I'm not at all sorry to see it go.