I Can See Clearly Now the Rain is Gone

Lacewing by NaturalDevelopments

Well, the metaphorical rain is gone, but the actual rain is still very here...

No one told me that Early Summer in the Midwest would be so much fun (sarcasm intended)!

I'll take real storms and rain, over the metaphorical kind, ANY day. Allow me to explain...

The Butterfly Garden by irenesuchoki

For the past eight months, I held a position that taught me many things.

I didn't learn how to become better at marketing, or how to develop a business, or how to succeed in a professional work environment. I didn't experience any of the things that I was hoping to encounter when I accepted my former position back in September.

I learned that leaving 20 minutes early on the Friday before your birthday weekend will sometimes get you docked a whole half of a vacation day.

I learned that sharing your original ideas with someone may mean that they will steal them, present them, and claim them as their own.

I learned that not every boss that you work for will have your best interests in mind when they are making decisions.

I learned that when you are hired as a Marketing Associate, you very well may be hired the same week that the receptionist is fired, therefore making you a super-stapler-phone-answerer-copymaker-dish-washer-errand-runner completely by default.

I learned that being offered more money to stay at a job that sucks the life, soul, joy, energy, confidence, and charisma right out of you is not usually a good idea.

I hate to be a downer, but as far as I can tell, the end of this story is going to be a happy one.

Dusk by jmulcahy

For the past eight months, I have been a shell of the person I once was, and this past week has seemed to be what it must feel like to bust out of a cocoon after a dreary winter.

At my new job, I have tentatively begun to stretch out my stiff limbs of logic and my delicate wings of creativity.

So far, I have spent my days enjoying myself more than I ever dreamed would be possible at an actual job. I have been brainstorming and writing much needed marketing materials. I have been meeting, planning, and preparing to help open a store that is run by people with a mission and a purpose - our store is part of a company that I believe in with my whole heart.

I have been coming up with displays for some of the most gorgeous jewelry, dish ware, bedding, and furniture lines that can be found in Kansas City. I have been thoroughly enjoying myself, loving my co-workers, contributing to the progress of the business, and finally feeling like my presence is needed and that I really belong.

Flutterby by soundslikerain

As each day of the first week has passed, the wings of my heart have fluttered like a baby butterfly who is just realizing how much of this glorious world she has ahead of her. She is no longer a caterpillar who has to bore herself with munching through endless amounts of leaves.

This brand new butterfly has the freedom to flit about from flower to flower, spreading the pollen it takes to make the world beautiful.

I suppose that the longer one spends in their dark lonely cocoon, the more appreciative they are to finally be free.