Chapter 11 - I Did Not Quit My Job to Prove I Loved Lily
My first instinct after the injury was:
quit.
No more travel.
No more late meetings.
No more childcare complications.
I almost drafted the resignation.
Then Marcus stopped me.
Not literally.
He said:
“Naomi, don’t turn this into punishment for yourself.”
I snapped:
“My daughter broke her leg while I was hosting a barbecue with my own sister.”
“Yes.”
“She’s been telling me for a year.”
“Yes.”
“And I kept using Carla.”
“Yes.”
“Then how is this not on me?”
Marcus answered:
“Because responsibility is not binary.”
That irritated me.
Then he said:
“You made bad decisions about Carla.”
“She chose to hit Lily.”
“Both can be true.”
Exactly.
So I did not quit.
I changed:
how I worked.
My manager, Katherine Webb, surprised me.
I told her:
“I need reduced travel for several months.”
She answered:
“Okay.”
I stared.
“That easy?”
“No.”
“But solvable.”
I had spent years assuming career flexibility would destroy my standing without ever forcing the company to prove it.
Interesting.
I reorganized:
client assignments,
two travel-heavy projects,
meeting schedules.
Bright Path no longer had an immediate opening.
So we used:
a licensed sitter,
school program three days,
Marcus taking an additional long weekend monthly,
my mother visiting occasionally.
Messier.
More expensive.
Functional.
Lily recovered without needing Carla.
That alone changed my understanding of:
necessary.
Carla had been convenient enough to feel indispensable.
May you like
She was not.
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