I just got fired and I'm feeling free
For a while the job was draining me
Driving with the windows down, I remind myself to keep the words of that poem in mind for later. The thought of my former workplace in my rearview mirror makes me smile. So what if they let me go? Mentally, I was halfway out the door anyway. The expectations of the new management had been annoying from the start, and after three months, there wasn't any point of me staying any longer. I left in good standing, and none of my co-workers thought my termination was fair, so I could fight to get the job back if I wanted to. Honestly, though, I don't think it's a job worth fighting for. Now, I can have some more time to myself.
Mom won't like it when I tell her, but that's nothing new. Nothing seems to make her happy. She was the one who pushed me to find a full-time job instead of the part-time ones I preferred, but then, she hadn't liked it when I got hired because she felt like that job was beneath me. When told her I was unhappy after working there for nearly a year, she felt I wasn't being tough enough to stick with it.
'You're not there to be happy, you're there to work. You've got to establish longevity if you're going to work up the ladder.'
Easy for her to say. She wasn't the one having to deal with the problems that came with the work. The heavy lifting and faulty machinery that management refused to fix. The lack of people and immense workloads. The effects of being so tired after a shift I needed to nap in the car. That didn't suit me, and neither did the thought of staying in that industry, so working up the ladder was out of the question.
I take a deep breath as I stop at a red light. All that's behind me now. Fading away in my rearview mirror. Tomorrow will be a day for me. I'll be able to sleep, pause, and recharge. I've got enough saved up, and more on the way once my PTO is cashed out. I'll be okay.
I will be okay.