I’ve been meaning to write this blog post for a long time, and tonight seems like a fine time to do it.

On Friday, August 26, I completed my last day at i33 communications, llc, where I’d worked (through its various incarnations as sigma6, appnet and commerce one) for the past 8 years. I am now enrolled as a full-time student at Eastern Michigan University. I’m pursuing a post-baccalaureate teaching certificate, which means that, if all goes according to my plans, I will be teaching in the public schools starting in the fall of 2007.

Working for the same company for 8 years, even through a number of corporate acquisitions and spinoffs, makes a person comfortable in their surroundings. Even though there was constant change (part of being a web development company), there was still a core group of people who I worked with that had been through it all with me, and I still treasure that experience. There’s nothing like being part of a team that’s really hitting on all cylinders (or at least a majority of the cylinders), and above all a team whose members generally like and respect one another.

Even though I had been planning this move for close to 6 months before my last day finally arrived, it was still hard to believe that it was finally upon me. Honestly, though, I can’t say that I’ve really missed it yet. I think that’s a good thing – I will always be glad for the experiences I had working, at various times, as a web developer, project manager, information architect/interaction designer, and software testing manager. But I am content with moving on, and I think that’s a good sign.

One great thing about my new situation (and one of the reasons for changing things in the first place) is that I get to spend way, way more time with my kids, at least for the next 2 years while I’m in school. My class schedule is such that I’m in school two full days a week, plus one other night class, which means I’m the stay-at-home dad to my two youngest children for 3 days a week. I’ve cooked more in the last few weeks than I’d done in months before, been grocery shopping a few times, had some really nice moments with the kids, and generally gotten a chance to catch my breath.

Classes started today, which is why it seemed like it was finally time to write this entry. I can’t thank my wife, Sarah, enough for taking on the additional responsibility at work that she’s assumed; it’s what makes this whole venture financially possible. She’s also the one who initially pushed me to start thinking about teaching as a career NOW, rather than the vague “I’ll teach when I retire from business” idea I’d been carrying around for years.

Thanks for all of you who have encouraged me thus far – now it’s starting to get really interesting! I’ll keep you posted.