Three hours and forty minutes

Since Dave and I made the decision to move out to the country, there is only one thing about every day that I've wished I could change.  My 4-hour commute to a job that I love.  4 hours.  2 hours each way - and that is without the inevitable occasional delays caused by the weather, strikes, people who feel the only option is to jump and all sorts of other laughable reasons that the train companies give you.  Not to mention the over £5,000 a year hole in my bank account made by the extortionate fares.

I've never felt particularly stressed about my commute every day - it's a decision that we made and one that I was comfortable with to have the quality of life that we have in the country, away from the noise, grime and fast pace of a big city.  But the reality is that more and more recently, my body has been telling me that it is tired of doing it every day and is not willing to do it for much longer.  I'd always had it in the back of my mind that I'd only move if the exact right role presented itself at the right time... and it's time.  And so comes the end of an era.

I resigned on Thursday from a company that I have loved working at for 5 years.  I was both nervous and really hesitant about it, second-guessing myself right up until halfway through the first conversation (the first of five that I had to have!).  I explained all the usual things like it wasn't a decision that I had arrived at lightly, why I'd made the decision and where I was going. But it wasn't until I explained that I effectively only get 90 minutes a day during the week to spend any time awake in the same room as my husband that it really hit home.  I immediately calmed down because I realised with that one statement that I have made absolutely the right decision.

I am going on to a role which will stretch my braincells and give me a challenge that makes it worth the move.  But one of the best things about it is that it is a 10 minute drive from home.  I will have a total commuting time of 20 minutes a day - 30 maybe if I get stuck behind a tractor.  That will give me back 3 hours and 40 minutes of my life every day, which to me, is absolutely priceless.  I could make a whole lot of promises to myself that I will use that time to exercise, to bake, to clean the house more and a multitude of other things, but the only thing that I'm going to pledge now is that I will appreciate it and absolutely covet those additional hours I'll get to be in my husband's company every day.  Further than that, I'll just see what each day brings.

There are loads of cliches that I could come up with now, but I'll just go with the one that I know to be absolutely true - the past 5 years has presented me with fantastic opportunities that I am incredibly grateful for and I have made life-long friendships from my time there.  And looking forward, although I've taken a risk, it's a risk that I feel has had to be plunged into, so let's see what comes next!  I'm ready!