Is it just me—or is everything in transition at this particular moment? It is as if destiny turned the dial on a cosmic kaleidoscope, and everything is suddenly shifting shape. Friends who have been in positions forever are suddenly on the loose, some by choice, most not. Associates to whom I report are calling to let me know who’s taking their place. My inbox is full of new address notifications.
Count my husband and me as amongst those in transit. In our case, it was a job offer too good for him to refuse. Two months ago, we thought we’d be living in our little canyon cottage in Los Angeles forever. Now, we’re in corporate housing in Manhattan, wondering when the dial (and my head) will stop spinning.
Summer has always been a season of transition for school children, and especially for new graduates. I understand this.But what has befuddled me this year is that it’s not just rising seventh graders and brand new bachelors of arts who are in the throes of reinvention, challenge and change. It’s everybody I know, including those of us in the 50+ crowd, who probably thought we would have settled down by now.
It’s partly the economy, of course. I have friends who always thought they’d downsize “someday” and go live nearer to the kids. They’re downsizing, alright, but they’re going where the jobs are, whether or not the kids are nearby.
The truth is, wherever they move, chances are the kids will be close by anyway—perhaps closer than anybody anticipated. That’s because those new grads? They are having a tough time landing any kind of job, let alone something related to their field of study. A lot of the class of 2010 have come home to ride out the storm—and packed together in downsized homes, the notion of “transition” is something of an understatement.
Not all the major transitions taking place right now are being driven by the Recession, however. Some companies are hiring again, and having shrunk their staffs mean, lean and young, they’re actually hungry for seasoned talent. In some industries, employees of all generations who had been immobilized like deer in the headlights by the relentless unemployment statistics, are quietly circulating their resumes. There’s pent-up demand as one by one, individuals are being cherry-picked, leaving vacuums that need to be quickly filled.
Intellectually, I know that transitions are a good thing. Without change there can be no growth. Adaptation is key to both survival and advancement. When we’re beleaguered, we adapt. When we’re in luck, we seize the moment. In the middle, between status quos, we are a little like caterpillars in the cocoon. Take a peek inside too soon, and all you’ll see is green goo.
In the meanwhile, I trust that we all will turn into magnificent butterflies sooner rather than later. Until then, for those many of you in the same boat, I have two final words of hope and prayer for you: Mail Forwarded.