“My old team still messages me for advice and I answer every time, because it is the only part of the last year that felt like me.”

Nineteen months. I ran a department of forty. I have interviewed for roles I would have hired into, and been told I was overqualified by people I could have managed.

I took a job managing a hardware store in March. It pays a third of what I made. I am good at it, and it turns out I like knowing everyone who comes in.

My old team still messages me for advice and I answer every time, because it is the only part of the last year that felt like me.

I am not sure I am coming back. I say that plainly because everyone I know in this position is saying it quietly, and quietly means it never gets counted.