I finished the first week of work at my new job. In the midst of all the excitement, happiness and sheer giddiness that I felt this week, I discovered something else. I was completely stressed out.
After losing my temper for the umpteenth time Thursday night, I acquiesced to my husband's request to take an evening stroll. He asked me how things were going at work and I confessed that although I was happy to be there, I was still very nervous about, well, everything.
He nodded. And then he told me that starting a new job is one of life's great stressers. I was shocked. How could this be? Getting something that I've wanted for months causes stress? Impossible! I was being paid twice what I made last year and had amazing benefits and a wonderful schedule. Why on earth should I have anything to be stressed about? And yet, there it was.
As we walked, I realized that I haven't acquired all those little safety valves that people develop when they've been on the job for a while. I don't have a secret stash of chocolate in my desk or a favorite after-work bar. I don't have a close co-worker to confide in or a "go-to" lunch place. I don't have any of those little habits and quirks that people use to cope with the day-to-day ups and downs of the workplace.
I don't have them yet. But on Friday, I did put a small box of chocolate in the back of my desk drawer. For emergencies.
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