When we were thinking about moving, one of the saddest parts for me was the thought of having to quit my job. I love my job. Like, capital L “Love.”

Back in the day when we took career surveys, “technical writer” wasn’t on the list. Besides, I wouldn’t have cared much – I was going to be an elementary school teacher. Then a middle school teacher. Then a high school teacher. Then a university professor. (Essentially every age group I tried had me thinking, “I wonder if I’ll spend more time on teaching and less time on classroom management if I move up a level.”)

While there’s lots about teaching that I loved, ultimately it just wasn’t the right fit. (And to those who say “do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life,” I humbly suggest that if you try to get paid for your passion, you might just turn your favoritest things into a J.O.B. and you’ll spend so much time trying to make it all work that you’ll forget what you loved about it in the first place.)

Since then, I’ve basically (and blessedly) stumbled upon a career that allows me to write AND organize at the same time. It fits like a glove – I spend my days translating geek into English and get to enforce standards, destroy wordiness, and pretty much save the world. (Hey, when you’re grumpy and you click the Help button on your software and you get the answer you’re looking for right away, don’t you feel like Dudley DoRight has just swept in and untied you from the railroad tracks?)

I not only love the work itself, but I love the people with whom I work. I work with the most generous, kind, gracious bunch. They are helpful and understanding and supportive. And we laugh every. single. day. A whole lot.

So you can see why I dreaded the thought of leaving. Turns out, I didn’t have to. Behold – the Portland satellite office of the best software company in the Midwest:

(Why yes, those are my awards for winning the office costume contest two years running. Imma makin’ my plans for next year already…)

Yep, my superduperamazing workplace is letting me keep my job and work in the basement. I get to let The Husband follow his westward dreams AND still spend my days doing what I love?? An embarrassment of riches to be sure.

I’m only two weeks in, so I don’t have a routine set in stone yet, but so far so good. We’re figuring out video chat (awkward but fun) and scheming how we can do DQ and Starbucks runs simultaneously/across the country. The hardest part is the time difference (that 8 am meeting means calling in at 6 am for me, oy!). Actually that’s a total lie. The hardest part is missing my friends terribly. Thank you Jesus for instant messaging, but holy guacamole, do I miss twirling my chair and saying, “hey, are you using paragraph level 2 or level 3 for your images?”

(Because we’re cool like that.)

Nonetheless, it is truly a dream and I’m so crazy grateful that it has worked out like this. It’s a joy to grab that morning coffee, kiss The Husband goodbye and say, “I’m going to work now!”, embark on that long 15-second commute, and hit the ol’ startup button, ready for another big day of bullet points.