Endings and Beginnings

Tomorrow begins the end of life as I know it.

Tomorrow is my very last day of work at the best job I have ever had. Although I am so glad to be able to stay at home with our new son (who will shortly make his appearance!), it is sad to end this most agreeable chapter. I work for the best geologists ever! Casey and Darin have been absolutely fantastic and so easy to work for - they are very understanding, they think all the stuff I do is magic and that I am brilliant. They love it when I come up with ideas I think will be helpful. Casey especially likes to say, "I have an idea..... Here's what I want and I don't know how to do it, but I know you can figure it out." It has been really fun for me. Plus the company has been very kind to me and I have a pretty great setup. Okay, so it's still a cubicle, but I am really going to miss the dual ginormous monitors.

So I am kind of sad. It's a great job and great people and it's hard to continue work friendships once you aren't at work anymore. So all the big changes are beginning. It is the end of everything; it is the beginning of everything! The job will end. Me, as a working individual, who showers and puts on professional clothes every morning will end. Most of the ways I feel successful and important will end - cause it sure won't come from a job anymore! No more bonuses or appreciation lunches or afternoon ice cream thank-yous from my boss or emails expressing gratitude for my cleverness in doing something no one else does. I really am excited for my baby -- this just all makes for an awful lot of change at once! I would be a great deal more excited about the end of the alarm clock, but I haven't heard great things about the sleep patterns of brand-new moms.

And now for something completely different....

I also wanted to show what's in bloom right now in our yard! You can see spring is really here!

These are the azaleas in our front yard! We're hoping the mimosa tree isn't dead, but will shortly come to life. The crepe myrtle trees (close to the house) are beginning to leaf. You can't see them here, but there are peonies budding in the flower bed and the ants are working to make them blossom soon.

Here are our beautiful clematis and climbing rose bushes! I thought I had killed the clematis (on accident!). Did you know clematis grows off the dead parts from the year before? Yeah, well, I didn't!

I don't know what this bush is, but it grows REALLY fast and this is the only time of year that I love it. It's very pretty, with cascades of little pink blossoms down every branch.