“I’m sorry,” the bank teller said. “Your check has bounced (拒付).” Her words took a moment to sink in. This year had brought so much pain. A divorce (离婚), losing my house, then the loss of my job right before the holidays… and now the check for my car insurance had bounced!

Leaving the bank, I wondered what I would do. My unemployment (失业) checks were delayed, and everything seemed to be piling up. How long could I last without money? How I missed my parents in the faraway Los Angeles.

December in Michigan meant it was not only dark, but cold and snowy. Despite (尽管) that, I had an urge to take a walk on my favorite trail. Being cold and dark also meant there was a good chance no one else would be out, so I decided to go.

On the trail, I was grateful for sounds of rushing water coming from the little river. They covered my soft sobs while I walked. Tonight, it all felt like too much to bear.

Eventually, when my tears dried up, I headed home. Approaching my apartment (公寓) door, I noticed something bulky hanging on it. Probably another bill, I thought. While I struggled with my boots, I could see a card with my name on it through the clear plastic bag. Reaching in, I took out a very small, white envelope. Inside the envelope was a beautiful card with no name written on it, but it was stuffed with gift cards --- hundreds of dollars of gift cards that could meet my urgent needs!

I was in shock and awe. The timing of this amazing anonymous (匿名的) gift, arriving at exactly the right moment, was almost too much to comprehend. Again, I began crying, but now they were tears of joy. I felt so loved.

I would go to Los Angeles tomorrow!

Four months into my second faculty job, I was shocked that I had to record the hours I’d worked. At first, I was annoyed that I had to waste my time on such a boring task. But the practice of writing down my work hours is surprisingly inspiring, sending me down a path to better work-life balance.

In my study, I always believed I could perform better with extra effort. My research never felt finished, and I had no idea how many hours I was supposed to work. That made it easy to go down rabbit holes and work more hours than necessary. When I started my first faculty position, my contract stated that I work anywhere from 36 to 48 hours per week. But my teaching and administrative workloads were so high that I regularly reached the 48-hour mark. There was a long time during my first faculty job when my children didn’t see me enough.

In my second faculty position, I expected that my work hours would again be my business. So when I was told to track them, I was surprised. But anyway I decided to keep careful track of my hours, even noting breaks.

I’m glad I did, because the data have completely changed my view of work-life balance. With my tracking, I’ve found that I generally accumulate one week of overtime every two to three months. So now, every time I reach that milestone, I take a few days or even a whole week off. I spend that time at home with my family, or use the days to take a longer vacation. The breaks have improved my happiness and job satisfaction.

The data also help ease any guilt that I may have otherwise felt if taking time off. I still have deadlines, position requirements, and the pressure to publish papers. And I still work a lot, sometimes even on weekends. But I now know how much I work-and that I deserve the time off.

One piece of advice I give young people is that they don't have to decide what they want to do for the rest of their life at age 22. Just think of all the jobs that didn’t exist 10 years ago and what might exist 10 years from now.

My daughter is a nurse practitioner(从业者). But she didn’t start there when she went to college. She got her undergraduate degree in hotel and restaurant management with a minor(辅修课程) in business. She wanted to find a job in travel and tourism and see the world. On graduation day she looked at me and said, “Mom, I don’t know what I’m going to do with my life that’s meaningful, but I don’t think it' s travel and tourism”. I looked at her and said, “Just get a job and then figure it out.”

She struggled for a year or two after college with a couple of different jobs including work in the travel industry for a short time. But she started thinking early on after graduation about becoming a nurse. Whenever she talked to me about it, I told her she’d be a great nurse-super organized, able to multitask better than anyone I knew, with amazing people skills. But I also told her that she’d have to work hard and study the sciences if she wanted to be a nurse.

She considered her choices and decided to enter a combined nursing/nurse practitioner program getting her second bachelor’s degree then her master’s. She had found her passion(热衷的爱好)!Her nursing career since 2005 has progressed. She now has a mix of leadership, administrative, and clinical work.

Do you know what your passion is? Have you found it in your work or are you still searching for it?