You're Killeen Me, Smalls

This post has been a long time coming--just like my job change.  Let's rewind the clock:

January 2012--I find out that I'm pregnant (surprise!) and count quickly on my fingers--yup.  I'm gonna be very obviously pregnant while interviewing for my 1st post-dental school job.  Great.  Might as well put "maternity leave" under my list of hobbies on my resume and look for jobs at McDonald's. 

May 2012--Sure enough, I'm very pregnant and, after 2 months of searching, still very jobless.  Until I applied for a brand new dental office that was being built in Temple by a corporate dental company called K**l $miles (asterisks and dollar sign my own--the company doesn't actually spell their name with a dollar sign like Ke$ha, I just didn't want my blog to show up when somebody searches for a dentist).  After an interview I was hired for their brand new office in Temple, about an 8 minute drive from my house.  What a relief!  They didn't mind that I was pregnant or just out of school.  Hooray!  I have a job.

July 2012--On the Friday before I was supposed to start, my boss informed me that my office in Temple would not open as scheduled due to failure of a permit to come through.  Temporarily I was sent to the K$ office in Killeen to work there until my office opened.

December 2012--My temporary job in Killeen had somehow become very permanent.  The office in Temple had not (and still has not to this day) opened for business.  My temporary inconvenience of commuting 50 miles per day was now a recurring frustration--rolling away precious time that could have been spend with my sweet baby.  During this month the office changed its name to Re$oluti*n Dent#l (again, spelling is mine) and changed its business model to appeal more to adults and commercial insurance patients (the office would no longer accept Medicaid).  This change was good for me in many ways, allowing me to do a larger variety of procedures, see a wider demographic of patients, and enjoy a more relaxed schedule; however, with change comes stress and confusion, and our transition was not without incident.  We lost several from our staff and endured our fair share of growing pains as we tried to navigate through what this new office should look like.

January 2013--Still navigating many transitional bumps in the road at work, one of my church friends mentioned that the dentist she worked for was looking for an associate.  Intrigued, I sent him my resume.  Several hours of discussion and interview followed with him and ended with a job offer.  The offer came with many attractive facets, not the least of which were shorter hours, closer to home, and the opportunity to learn from a dentist with 20+ years of experience.  It was a God-sent gift, and I took it.

February 8, 2013--I gave notice at what I was now calling "my old job."  My contract specified that I must give 90-days notice prior to leaving, but the dentist I work with told me that in her experience dentists are usually fired as soon as they give notice.  I had heard similar stories from my friends who work for other corporate dental offices.  I didn't think there was any way they would make me stay 3 months longer...

I thought wrong.

May 6th, 2013--I'm still here.  I have 3 work days left on my "sentence" here at RD, and I cannot wait to go.  I used to think I was a woman of some fortitude, but now I see that I am not as strong as I once thought.  I intended to make a graceful exit, however somewhere around day 75 my "graceful" took a turn for "grumpy."  I couldn't help but to feel that this job was standing directly in the path of my happiness at my new job AND more time at home with my boy.  So I had some days where I was short with the staff.  Some days where I just didn't smile much.  Some days when I just felt sick driving to work.  But this, too, shall pass.  Wednesday is my last day at RD and on May 13 I'll start my new job (finally) in Salado.  It may not be perfect, but it's a welcome change. 

T-minus 3 days...and counting.