Politics: Are you in or out?

No, I'm not talking about the politics you hear on the news or the type talked about on the Hill. I'm talking about the politics that are found in every workplace across America (please let me know if you have discovered one without them and I will gladly apply!). The kind that forces you to decide to either play the game (which might get you ahead if you're lucky) or not play (which could easily be a career derailer). Politics like this have been taking over my world at work lately and I am overwhelmed with uncertainty of how to deal with them. Do I play the game or choose to sit on the sidelines?

For those of you who know me well, you know that I am not one who easily hides her true feelings. Friends and family know instantly when things aren't right with me because I have a hard time concealing the real Jill. Pretending to be someone or something that I'm not only causes me discomfort and at some point, the truth (usually accompanied by tears) will surface because I can't take it any longer. At work, I prefer to be myself, do my job to the best of my ability, and to get rewarded when I do the job well (which is all the the time of course!). Apparently, I was handed the wrong instructions to the game when I joined the team, because this is not how it works in the real world. Ironically, I remember taking a test my junior year of college, titled "How Political are You?" This was a test for fun that we took in my Organizational Behavior class at Pepperdine and I will never forget that I scored the lowest in the class on "politicalness." I didn't realize how that would impact my life at the time, but now reality is sinking in. Has this happened to any of you? How do you deal with this? I find it especially hard to be true to myself by following Christian principles and succeed at work at the same time. I welcome any of your thoughts or advice on the subject.

So, how's married life?

This is a question that I have been asked countless times since our wedding on June 11th (now 11 weeks!). As much as I truly appreciate being asked about my new life with Tim, I often wonder if this is one of those questions where people expect to hear the generic answer (i.e., "great," "wonderful," "couldn't be better") and then continue on their way. While married life has been all of these and much more, if you want to know the REAL truth, life as a newlywed can also be challenging! There is hard work to make your marriage successful!!

Although Tim and I talked about our expectations and tried to anticipate everything ahead of time, there are some things you just don't anticipate until you are there. In fact, I think most of us would agree that it is hard to communicate all of our expectations in advance, because frankly we may not know about them until we realize they are not being met. Tim and I have run into challenges in some areas over the past few months including housework, money, and communication. I have decided that these issues will always be "works in progress" and we will have to continue to be flexible with one another.

A few of my single friends have asked me if our relationship changed after the wedding. I would have to say that it has changed, but in ways that make it better. We are closer than ever before and now know all of each other's idiosyncracies that we didn't know until living together. Learning these things about one another has been wonderful and I hope the learning never ends! If I had to sum it up, I would say that we now have that comfortableness that you can only have with your own family. We might get on each other's nerves occasionally from being around each other much more than before, but we know that without a doubt that the other is always there and is the first to forgive with open arms. What an amazing plan that God has!!! I am truly blessed to have Tim as my partner for life!