To say it was difficult to leave the warm sunny weather, paradise beaches, and great cheap food of Playa Del Carmen to return to chilly San Francisco is an understatement. To say it was hard to shed my vacation life for the heavy skin of office work is the understatement of the year.
In Playa I felt the freedom of the new life that I have chosen. I wrote, I read, I exercised my creative muscles. I lived the true excitement of the path that lies ahead.
It was odd returning to the office from vacation with only twelve days left of office life. And beyond odd, there is something of it that is akin to serving out the last days of a prison sentence. In a way, what is "only" twelve days seems like an eternity when I know that my freedom, my life, lies just beyond those twelve long days.
And something inside me has changed as well. What used to be small annoyances that came with the territory of my job today I found nearly unbearable. I am elated at the thought of the people and situations that I will never have to deal with again. And I am even more overjoyed at the thought of spending my days thinking, writing, and creating. I am more excited about the thought of scraping by on meager wages and filling my days doing what I love than I could ever again be at the thought of traditional success.
Countdown: Eleven days to freedom.
There is a recent This American Life episode about how even for prisoners who have been incarcerated for decades it becomes unbearable as soon as they are up for parole.
As you 'give birth' to your new life, shortly after you leave your office you will remember only the good times. You will recall the smiles, the quirky and unique people, the warmth and caring of those you really liked. You will magically forget being underpaid, under appreciated, enduring conflicts, anxiety, tolerating the irritations, stress, and politics just to work in the wonderful world of law. This has been my experience.