Bye, bye life as I knew it

Well, it's official. My life will be changing dramatically within the next month--one chapter will close and another will begin.

Five years ago I accepted a job in Atlanta working for a dot com startup based in the Bay Area of California, and it's been the ride of a lifetime. Not only did we survive the dot com bust, but we built a highly profitable business along the way and had a lot of fun doing it. I remember those first years like they were yesterday. There was always energy, excitement, hard work, and lots of laughter. What's very unusual with our team is that most of us have worked together for 3 or 4 years, unheard of in this industry, and I consider many of them to be great friends despite the geographic distance separating us. We've laughed and cried through births, deaths, weddings, and just life.

Recently the company was acquired, and we've been waiting for the shoe to drop ever since. Two weeks ago the shakeup started and the dreaded "integration" word was used on a conference call announcing the changes. So within the next month I need to find a position within the larger organization "or else". "Or else what?" is anybody's guess at this point.

I have a great life. I get to have breakfast and/or lunch several times a week with my kids. I live in Atlanta, one of the most beautiful cities in the country, but it also has one of the longest average commute time of any city in the nation. I work out of a home office and have no commute. My boss doesn't get into the office until noon my time. I take my oldest daughter to Mother's Morning Out twice a week... and pick her up at lunchtime. Most days I quit work promptly at 6:00pm and am able to immediately start playing with my girls. Did I mention that I live in Atlanta and have no commute? I knew this wouldn't last forever, but I've enjoyed it while it did.