A first real job

Yesterday my daughter was offered her first “real” job when she graduates in the summer.

She has been studying psychology and decided the path she wants to take is into HR. Having applied for a number of roles, she had an interview yesterday and was informed she had landed the job.

To say we are excited and proud of her is an understatement but there is also an element that is bittersweet.

Her new job is about 200 miles away.

There is a realisation that she probably won’t be coming back to live in “her room” again - although we will obviously still keep it as her room and expect her to visit regularly.

With her brother going to university in September there is also the realisation that we are approaching that “empty nest” situation and I’m not yet sure how I feel about it. It comes with an element of freedom but there are also two massive parts of our lives who won’t be around all the time.

I guess the time she has spent at university has helped to start to prepare us but it feels a bit like when we left her at university the first time - that was not easy!

I guess I now know a bit how my parents felt when I moved 200 miles away for my first job. It is much easier now, as we don’t just rely on telephone calls as we are able to FaceTime or WhatsApp, but it is still not easy.

We have got to the point where they need that freedom to live their own lives. They need to make their own decisions, experience life, the good and the bad - but know that we will always be there for them.

I will always be there to give her a hug.