Working Girl!

One of the fun (or not so fun, depends on your preference) things about being a Navy wife is the lack of employment options. It's fun because if you're like me you get to quit your full time job, get married, move to a tiny island and declare yourself a stay at home wife. For most of my time in Guam my job pretty much consisted of: going to the gym, swimming in the ocean, golfing, scuba diving and socializing. I took a part time job with Hallmark towards the end of our tour there but for the most part, it was all play, very little work.

Then I moved to Virginia. I started to feel pretty silly not having a job when most other women I knew did. So I searched. For ten months. Not kidding, the job market just isn't what it used to be. Then again, I'm sure you're aware of that. I'm sure I could have gotten a job at Macy's or as a waitress if I really needed to but from experience, I knew I'd be borderline miserable and what good would that be for me? So I waited. I volunteered, worked with the Spouse club at Colin's squadron, traveled to see family and friends. Then I got pregnant and figured it was time to put that hope away and focus on my new permanent job 9 months down the road. Of course, what better timing than to get an offer? Right after Christmas, J&A Racing, a company that puts on 4 major running races here in Hampton Roads contacted me and asked if I could fill in until the baby is born. I find it hilarious that that very morning I was lying in bed trying to figure out what to do with myself for the day when I once again pitied myself for not having a professional purpose in life. Literally fifteen minutes later I opened my email and discovered the offer. If that isn't God speaking I don't know what is!

So two months later I'm still enjoying myself. It's a great company and we're getting ready for our biggest event, the Shamrock Marathon weekend. The company does a great job putting on family friendly races that appeal to everyone from toddlers to first time joggers to elite runners. We wrapped up Virginia is for Lovers 14K this month which was a blast. The 8-ish mile course featured music, candy stations, cheesy pickup line signs and even a wedding! The weekend was exhausting but nonetheless a blast. It felt great to be back in the running world again.

Shamrock is in a couple of weeks and the comedy here is that my coworker is due the week after the race. If she goes into labor before then, well her job becomes mine until she comes off maternity leave! I've got some tough shoes to fill so I'm hoping for the sake of 28,000 runners that the baby decides to hang on until d-day!