Notice. in Hello.

Today I handed in my notice at work. There are a couple of reasons for this, and none of them are because I don't enjoy my job. First and foremost, Rob has got a job that will turn full time once he leaves college. And once he has a full time wage coming in, he will be moving out and finding his own place. This means my live in child care is going. While I can trust Bel on her own for an hour or so, I can't expect her to watch Eleanor too, or not go and do things with her friends because she's baby sitting. With the summer holidays looming and John working split shifts, I need to be here when the summer holidays start.

Secondly, I want to dedicate more time to doing more work that befits my degree. I graduated over 6 years ago now, and this is the first time I've been offered a post that I've really wanted and is permanent. The last time I was a guided walk leader, I used to wake up in the morning happy because Iwas going to work. Sadly,that was only a seasonal job. This guided walk volunteer role is the perfect first foot on the ladder and should lead to paid work before long. Working up to 4 half days a week in the shop makes it difficult for me to dedicate as much time as I need to doing this. My friend, Susan, also keeps asking me to go to the local red squirrel group meetings with her, but they're always while I'm at work. (I did my dissertation about red squirrels.)

I'd much rather be working outside in the Lake District, doing something I love voluntarily than doing something I enjoy a little bit and getting minimum wage for it.

Our income will be topped up with extra benefits, so I figured this is the best time to do it, while I'm still young enough and have enough cash coming in to pay the bills.