What's next?

You know how normally life just gets into a routine and whole days and weeks—maybe even months—can pass by without you really noticing?

Today was not one of those routine days. In fact, none of the past few days have been routine.

So far in the past week I have:

1. Quit my job.
2. Accepted a new job.
3. Told my landlord I'm moving.
4. Found a new place to live.
5. Sold my car.
6. Had a few major freakouts, but on the whole I'm doing okay.

I'm sure some of you will want more detailed explanations of the above numbers, but if you're not one of those people, you're fine to just stop reading now. No worries. I still love you for making it this far.

Except wait, before you go, I want to show you this clip from The West Wing. It's my all-time favorite show and it's the reason I titled this post the way I did. This particular clip is nothing special, but "What's next?" is a running thing in the show and in times of stress I tend to fall back on the familiar—in this case Josh and Toby and Sam and Donna and Charlie and C.J. and Leo and President Bartlett.

Okay, the not-as-interested people can stop now.

For the rest of you, I realize that I might not be the (fictional) president, but I think I'm ready to move on to other things in my life. Sad as that makes me. I need to keep moving or I'll fall behind. The fact is, I've only got one life and probably about six different lifetimes' worth of dreams and goals and ambitions.

So, that brings us back to . . .

1. I quit my job.

I have LOVED working at Cedar Fort. I started there as an intern when I was in my last year of college. It was 2008. (I'm so old!) Then a few months later as I was graduating, they hired me to be a book editor. I had so much fun editing books. Those were the good old days. But eventually I felt the need to move on. So in 2011, I quit and went to live in California, but I still worked for Cedar Fort for another six months as a copywriter. That was fun too. I love writing cover blurbs and ad copy. In 2014, I came back to be the production manager, and honestly, I think this has been my favorite job there. I've learned a TON and I've had a blast helping to keep us all on schedule and figure out the logistics. It's been great to feel like I'm contributing. Plus I have an awesome team that reports to me. I'm really, really, really going to miss them. But yes, I quit. My last day will be July 31st.

Because . . . 

2. I accepted a new job.

Beginning August 3rd, I'll be working as an assessment editor at Western Governor's University in Salt Lake City. I'm really excited about this! When she heard about it, one of my current coworkers told me I was moving up in the world. Which is literally true. Instead of working on the second floor of an office building, I'll now be working on the ninth floor. :) 

Seriously though, I am excited. I need a new challenge and I know that this position will be both a natural extension of what I've been doing and a chance to flex my skills in a whole new way. Plus I'm planning to take advantage of their employee discount on tuition to go back to school. This is something I've been considering for years, but the timing never seemed right. It's so cool how Heavenly Father arranges things in my life for the best. I need to trust Him more. (Mental note: remember this the next time you start freaking out about something. So, like, in about twenty minutes.)

3.  Told my landlord I'm moving.

I'm so, so sad about leaving the Hidey Hole. It's been a great little first apartment for me and I feel like I've grown up a ton in the year that I've lived here. In case you haven't been following along on the blog, since moving in here I have: 

- gone through the entire tidying process

- become a lot better at running

- lost some weight, gained some back, but overall come out of it healthier than I was

- written 2.75 books (Tiny Talks vol. 15; 1, 2, 3 with Nephi and Me!; and the second Jane Journals book which is currently untitled but only about 8,000 words away from being completely done. Hallelujah.)
- published 3 books (Tiny Talks vol. 15; Liam Darcy, I Loathe You; and 1, 2, 3 with Nephi and Me!)
- attempted Tiny Living (by confining myself to less than 500 square feet.
- made some awesome friends in my family ward whom I'm really going to miss.

4. Found a new place to live.

This was the easiest one. I'm moving in with my grandparents temporarily, and I couldn't be more excited. Being an adult is super hard sometimes. Especially when you start making big decisions and stuff. All of it just makes me want to crawl under my covers and ignore the big, bad world outside. Which is why I'm so glad to be going to a safe place where I can have a little time to breathe and figure out my next living situation. My grandparents live up above Foothill in Salt Lake City, and their house has been the one constant place in my life for as long as I can remember.

I put a lot of importance on places. I always have. My immediate family has moved from house to house and state to state, but my grandparents have never moved. Their house looks exactly the same as it did when I was eight or four or eighteen months old. My earliest memory is of sleeping in the bottom bunk of a bunk bed at their house. I know I was younger than two at the time. The bunk bed is gone now, but their house hasn't changed. Like I said, I tend to fall back on the familiar during stressful times, and I'm so glad to have the option to stay there, surrounded by a lifetime of familiarity.

This actually isn't me. It's my little sister Jenny. But it was taken in my grandparents' front yard. I think this was the last time I lived there, right before we moved to Seattle when I was five.

5. Sold my car.

Technically this one hasn't quite happened yet. I'm supposed to be meeting the guy in an hour or two. I won't bore you with all the details of my car saga, but just know that I'm glad to be selling it and excited to start looking for a new vehicle. And in the meantime, for the next few days, I'll be back on my bike or on foot. That will be good for me.

6. Freaked out a bit, but settled down enough to be okay.

I know that these changes are going to work out great for me. I'm really grateful for the new opportunities I've been given and I'm excited to get to work. But I won't lie, this has been a roller coaster week. If I start thinking about all of the people I'm going to miss or how happy I've been here, I get a bit weepy. So mostly I try not to think about it. I'll be all right. In fact, I'll be way better than all right. It'll be a little tough at first, but I'll make it.

Things to be grateful for in all this:
- that I tidied. Moving is going to be a breeze.
- that I'll still get to be a Cedar Fort author and stay in touch with all my friends that way.
- that I've learned so much.
- that I'm the kind of person who can connect with people in meaningful ways, enough that we all feel sad when it's time to part ways.
- that the timing has worked out really well, all things considered.
- that I've discovered (again) that Heavenly Father has a plan for me, that He cares about my life, and that He wants to help me achieve all of my goals—so long as they line up with His goals for me.

I've really felt His hand in all of this, which is the real reason I'm doing it. I know it's the right move. I'm just surprised about how quickly it's all happening.

I was kind of enjoying those routine days. Never thought the day would come when I'd wish for more mundanity. Maybe I really am an adult. ;)