It was the day after.
I was liberated.
Free of the chains of a corporate culture.
A culture with a foosball table, beef jerky to the ceiling and cases of San Pellegrino overtaking the kitchen almost to the point of displacing employees out of their desk areas.
Truth is – I try to stay away from pop, tried jerky – it didn’t take – and was in too few times during the week to feel I deserved a foosball break. Believe me, I took them but not as often as I would have liked.
So, good bye to all that and hello to my new life.

It started all well and good on Friday morning. Friday, by the way is the best time to start a new life. You just have one day and if it doesn’t quite work out well, you have the weekend to sleep it off, forget about it or celebrate it.
A new life as a stay at home mom in a fairly new town with a fairly new title (suburbanite as opposed to the urbanite you once were). Of course the first thing on the list – go to Target. That’s so obvious, it was so necessary and it so ended up being perfect.
I might even go so far as to say that Friday is the best way to start a new life only if you have a party at your house on Saturday that is being catered. Yes, I’ll say it and I’ll stand behind it.
So you wake up Friday – you have purpose. A non-work related goal right away is good.
Get bubblemakers for Saturday party. It’s also a fun purpose.
Bubbles!
I’m a sucker for bubbles so surprised myself when I thought of getting them for party attendees only a few days before the party. The way I love bubbles one would think I would have started with the idea of bubblemakers for 15 kids and THEN thought – oh we should throw my son a 3rd birthday party.
The purpose was to purchase bubblemakers and Target was the goal.

Oddly enough, although being a resident of my new environs for over 12 months I had never been to the closest Target. When I’d inquire to local friends and family, I always heard, “Oh it’s back behind that shopping center.” On Friday morning, I hopped into the car, skipped the GPS and with my son with me headed “back behind that shopping center”.

So there we were. . . driving slowly through a crowded parking lot the kind where it seems like 1500 ants (people) were dry dropped into the area by overhead helicopters and everyone everywhere all you see is scurrying. Here there and everywhere for sure. So, we car crawl and first see – Wal-Mart. Well, that’s not Target. Next is Best Buy.  Then I see red letters and I know, it’s just not Target. And I creep the car forward trying to will it to be Target and pretend I don’t recognize the font and I give a light tap to the gas and yes, there it is –  – Costco. I’ve failed. I pull into an empty parking spot and hang my head in dread. I just got lost in the Costco parking lot looking for Target. Suburban Mom fail.
Better yet, I’m parked still and I look at my phone. A text from a friend with the words “Congrats! How is the first day of the rest of your life going?” I smile. I almost crile.

This is a word invented by me and the hubs when Noodle – our second – was under 1 year. It’s a combo of smile and cry. Adorable on a baby. Not so cute on the woman in charge.)

I write back.

“I’m lost in the Costco parking lot looking for Target.  Let’s say the new life starts on Monday!”

And then I felt better, I found the Target target.  (Not a typo.  It is genuinely appropriate.) Bubblemakers were purchased.

The party the next day was still catered and still delicious and celebratory and sunny and filled with family and friends. (and bubbles!!)