[Note from RPB – This is the 2nd of three articles. The previous article dealt with Relationships and Parenthood; this article picks up with Careers and Work. At the end of this article, I will have some specific comments, also.]
"I've stopped putting in so many crazy hours at the office and now try to leave at a reasonable time so I can enjoy family, friends, and life a little bit more," Natasha Wieschenberg, Bridgewater, N.J.
The more than 300,000 people laid off since Sept. 11 have been forced into job change. But many others who still have jobs say they are now questioning the work they do and the amount of time they spend doing it.
Candace McCumbee, 32, of Rockville, Md., after being laid off from an informational technology engineering job in July, stopped looking for a similar position on Sept. 11. "I'll never forget that day," she said.
McCumbee always had a natural writing ability, but never pursued writing as a career. Now, she is focused on writing short stories and poetry for children. "I'm going to give back to life and stop living in the future," McCumbee said.
It's not uncommon during crisis for some people to reject unfulfilling jobs and look for their calling in life, says Dick Bolles, author of What Color is Your Parachute? "People suddenly realize they don't have much time to dilly-dally with their lives," Bolles said.
For some who live and work far from relatives, the aftermath of Sept. 11 brought an intense desire to ditch work and move closer to home. "My current job is no longer important to me," said Vanna Lanh, 51, a construction project manager in Tampa, Fla. "I plan to relocate and settle my wife and child closer to my relatives and good friends" in West Palm Beach, Fla, he said.
Of course, many don't have the economic wherewithal to quit their jobs. While that may make some discontented workers feel trapped, others may be happy just to have a job, says Bill Fenson, president of the National Employment Counseling Association. "These people know they have to subsist if they can't afford to make that move," said Fenson, a Binghamton, N.Y.-based counselor.
"I'm not so sure I feel safe where I work [in Silicon Valley]. I feel that any attacks here would cripple the United States. That is why I moved to a quiet area in the woods and five minutes from the beach," April Martin, Aptos, Calif.
Exposed vulnerability of U.S. cities has led many to rethink where they live and work.
Julia Duncan has lived 10 miles from the Pentagon in Northern Virginia for more than a decade. She never felt completely comfortable living there, she said, but the proverbial last straw came when a hijacked jet plunged into the nation's military headquarters, leaving 189 dead. Now, she's thinking of moving.
"I don't know if anywhere is safe, of course, but my stomach goes hollow every time I remember waiting for my husband to get home on Tuesday, Sept. 11," she said.
Some urban dwellers say they have reconsidered working in skyscrapers, while others have packed up and left cities altogether. Suburban New York real estate brokers have reported sharp jumps in interest since the Sept. 11 attacks. Even realtors in Vermont and Florida have found new homes for fleeing New Yorkers.
Of course, escaping the city isn't realistic for everyone, and some experts wouldn't even advise it.
"Don't rush into decisions without thinking about how others might be affected by your decisions," says Joseph Weintraub, an organizational psychologist in Wellesley, Mass. "Pulling your kids out of school and moving to the woods is not likely to give your family the sense of security that you hoped to accomplish."
For urbanites who have decided to stay put, life in the city now means preparing for the worst. "My office is a stone's throw from the TransAmerica Building," says Ana Costa, 48, of San Francisco, who has discussed emergency supplies and evacuation plans with her court reporting agency staff. "I am aware that if a terrorist attack took place as I sat at my desk, I could be history."
But even those who live outside city limits are rethinking how they live, if not where they live. Some say they're gathering personal papers, balancing accounts and paying off bills. Others are writing up wills, collecting survival gear and socking weapons away in drawers.
On Saturdays, Cecilia Kruchko's family does drills at their home in the hills above Hollywood to make sure they can get their pets inside and close everything up in 15 seconds in case of germ warfare, she said. "I have put our valuable documents in a binder near the door in case of having to evacuate," said Kruchko, 49.
(To be continued)
Can you see that the common thread in every interview is the recognized importance of taking care of matters of first priority, instead of mindlessly running in circles? Paul’s exhortation in Titus 2:11-14 suggests three factors in our life choices for "the present age"; thus we are to live:
Completed next week…