Still processing today: forgive me if I don't really sound like myself.
I got to the new job at a little before 9 this morning and reported to the man who will be my boss. He went over the role in a bit more detail and also explained where it fits in the legal department's food chain (right at the bottom). The more he explained it, the more I saw that the job is very much paralegal, bordering on secretarial - far more so than I'd really taken from the position description. As the morning wore on and as I waded through the induction materials, the more ridiculous and ashamed I began to feel, and tried to work out if I'd simply misunderstood the role, or indulged in wishful thinking, or been sold a pup. I couldn't even see why I was bent out of shape about it - it was only last week I was saying I would happily go and shovel out horse stables to earn a living. It wasn't till this evening that the maternal unit pointed out that it's one thing to find yourself at the bottom of someone else's professional tree: that's just how life goes. It's a different thing entirely to go back to the very bottom of your own.
As the day went on I started feeling a bit more positive about the job: I think it's gravitated to the administrative because it's been done by a non-lawyer for some years. It may be possible to give it a more legal-professional bent. We'll see. In any case, I can't turn down a role I'm (over)qualified to do if it's offered, and it lets me support my darling daughters properly, so for better or worse I need to get on and make the best of it. If nothing else, the chance to get training and experience in something aside from my field of expertise is the sort of opportunity I'd be a complete fool to let slide, things being how they are.
So, I guess it's been a swings and roundabouts day. In any case, they seem like a pleasant, sensible group of folks to work with, and that counts for a lot. One of them is actually someone I knew at university but haven't seen for 15 years; small world!
No more for now. Hope all is well with you good folks. Time to get some sleep before tomorrow.
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