I'm sure I'll have many more to share in a few weeks once I get back from Michigan, Iowa, and Idaho!

My last day of work was today. It was surprisingly wonderful--festivities, lovely unexpected cards and gifts, encouraging goodbyes. I'm really going to miss being there! However, I will be doing some consulting work for one of my departments and possibly a bit of occasional work for the other, as well. I'm so happy to be staying connected and avoiding permanent goodbyes for the time being.

I also have some online-marketing projects to do for my mom's business. It's also a part-time short-term gig, but between the two positions I'm happy to have challenging new tasks to keep me occupied for a little bit. They will help me feel productive (and make some money) while I continue my search for something permanent. I did get offered another job interview today (for a dream job, no less), so that's exciting! That still means I've only gotten interviews at two of the twenty places I've applied... but it's something.

As of tomorrow I'll be unemployed and living at my parents' house. Until recently I feared that this would really bring me down, but for today I'm content. I have a camping trip this weekend, a houseboat trip the next, then a 2-weekish solo WWOOF trip I'm planning, then a wedding in Des Moines, and then a hiking trip in Boise with Sam. I guess I'm trying to make up for the severe lack of camping/travel so far this summer. I'll barely have time to notice I'm unemployed! I will really relish this time off to decompress, reflect, and prepare for the life transitions that just don't stop coming. If I still don't have a job a month from now, I'll resume my search with some new tactics. I need to spend less time applying for openings and more time networking.

I have a tendency lately to derive a lot of my happiness and self-worth from what I do during the day and not who I am at the end of it. Not having a job will be a great challenge to force me to realign my inner self. I'll have to find contentment and meaning in something other than the 9-to-5 (or 9-to-9 as it became some days). It's absolutely possible and necessary. "Work" doesn't just have to involve a paycheck (somehow I missed this lesson even as a full-time volunteer). I think unemployment just may be a state of mind.

My best friend Jenny got married this weekend—and an entire weekend it was! I had an absolute blast, but I’m exhausted. Being a bridesmaid is tiring! Taking Friday and tomorrow off of work was an excellent decision on my part.

I could try to put the wedding into numbers: 3 photo sessions, 240 guests, 17 hours of wedding activities yesterday, 2 times the DJ played “Stayin’ Alive.” But none of that really sums up what a wonderful event it was. The smile never left Jenny’s face all weekend, and she and Joe had the time of their lives. It was so beautiful, moving, and fun. Watching the couple begin and celebrate their commitment to each other was just awesome, especially after being there for the pre-dating crush talks... the first kisses and "I love you"s... the serious heart-to-hearts about the future... and finally that wedding processional.

Although I’ve always rolled my eyes a bit at all of the hoopla that went into Jenny and Joe’s wedding (I don’t know how many times I’ve vowed mine will be different) I haven’t minded a minute of my involvement. In fact, I’ve been so honored to be a part of things, from dress shopping a year ago to folding invitations months ago to helping the bride go to the bathroom yesterday. This weekend I threw myself into each task: rising before 6 a.m., fussing over the bride, following the priest’s every dictate, fetching beverages, driving all over the west metro, watching Jenny and Joe open endless gifts. It was a lot of work, but it also meant I got to enjoy the special things: standing next to couple as they took their vows, dancing with the wedding party, finding those close little moments with the bride and groom when things weren’t staged or observed. I wouldn’t trade a minute of it (well, except for when her aunt videotaped us in the bathroom—seriously, hand-washing footage will never make the highlights reel anyway, so please leave us alone). Being able to serve and support Jenny and Joe during this journey has meant so much to me, and I couldn’t care less that it required some grunt work. None of it has felt like a chore.

Seeing how elated Jenny and Joe were yesterday has made me all the more excited for my wedding when I will get to make the same pledge to my partner. I got many, many questions this weekend about my and Sam's wedding, and the best way to describe our plans was, “completely different from this.” Our event will be much smaller, simpler, less religious, less detailed, less formal. I refuse to think about selecting chair covers, how we should stand when we cut the cake, finding a flower girl, or coordinating 11 guys’ tuxes. However, I do hope my wedding resembles Jenny and Joe’s in some ways: I can only hope it is just as beautiful, genuine, fun, and reflective us as a couple.