Re-Entry

After a week of sleeping at the same time as everyone else, I am back to overnight shifts (and, if possible, daytime sleep). The problem with seeing the other side is that you get a sense of what you are missing. The problem with stepping away is that it makes re-entry that much harder. And yet, I am reminded...
 
...That I survived returning to college after breaks much longer than this.
 
...That I survived returning to work after having each of my children.
 
...That I survived stepping into places I didn't know after being out of work.
 
...That I survived going from places where I had friends to places where I felt new and alone.
 
...That I survived going from jobs where I knew it all to jobs where I felt as though I knew nothing.
 
Re-entry is probably never easy, whether it is after a short time or a very long one, whether it is to something familiar, or to something completely new. But we survive. We take small steps, then bigger ones. And before we know it, we're back in--to wherever, and whenever "in" is at the moment.