An era has ended :(

Today I put in my 2 week notice at Pottery Barn Kids. I started working there when we lived in Denver. We moved to Denver in July '02 and I searched for a teaching job for months. I tried to sub, but there was a freeze on subs in many public schools. Since I didn't know anybody and Ben was working long hours, I started looking for other jobs. I was in the mall, Park Meadows, and noticed Pottery Barn Kids. It was the neatest store and they needed a Customer Service Associate. It was 40 hours a week and I didn't have to work the weekends. I LOVED it!! I was in charge of all the backorders, Gift Registry, and customer service issues. After working there a year, I was promoted to Nursery Manager. I loved the people I worked with and loved working with the customers. I had a lot of great opportunities, because of the store. After 2 years, we moved back to Kansas City and I transferred to the KC store as a part time associate because I went back to teaching. I was at the Plaza store which is actually on the Missouri side. The people I worked with were WONDERFUL! When Daddy got sick, they allowed me all the time off that I needed. They were so compassionate and willing to change the schedule if I needed to make a trip home. Since Ben's parents lived 10 minutes away, they would keep Hudson during the week so that I could work and then Ben would keep him if I worked on the weekends. Then a year and a half later the company opened a new store in Town Center which was on the Kansas side and closer to our house.

After we moved to Houston, I transferred to the Highland Village store. Since we don't have any family in town, the burden has been on Ben to keep the boys when I work. Even though, I usually only work on Saturdays and sometimes Sundays, Ben has had to sacrifice his weekends. He loves being with the boys, but he is limited on what he can do and has to do things around nap time. I am so grateful that he has been willing to sacrifice his time so that I can do what I enjoy. Now that the boys are getting older and we are getting more involved in our church, I have been having to ask off a lot at work. Plus some Saturdays I would enjoy sleeping in or doing things that I want to do, instead of working. It has been a hard decision to make, because I truly ENJOY working at Pottery Barn Kids but I think it is the best thing for right now. When everyone is in school all day, maybe I'll go back to working a couple of days during the week. I'm going to miss my 40% discount, but I'll live. :)