It’s good to be home.

About a year ago I decided to leave PUNCH to pursue an opportunity with the Commonwealth of Virginia. Shortly after I arrived at my new job, I realized I belonged in a creative environment. While away at a conference, I received a call from Charlie with an offer to return to PUNCH to fill a new position. I was so excited! I honestly couldn’t fathom going anywhere else and agreed pretty much on the spot. Over the next few weeks I thought how I would approach my new role as New Business Manager. I wondered what my first day would be like, and if anything changed since I had last worked at PUNCH.

Fast forward to my first day back. Due to Hurricane Irene, the power at PUNCH was out. Employees gathered around the designer table, much like we do every Monday morning, to talk about the week ahead and current projects. Even though there were no lights or air conditioning, everyone was all smiles, doing what they could to get the job done with limited resources.

The next two days I tried to keep busy at a nearby coffee shop or from the comfort of my own home, but continued to think what a crazy week this was to start a “new” job. Each morning, I hoped that the daily PUNCH e-mail would inform me that the power was restored so that I could get back to some sort of normalcy, but no such luck.

Day 4, Thursday, when the team e-mail arrived in my inbox I was thrilled; PUNCH had power! By the time I arrived, the majority of the team was already at the office catching up on e-mails and projects from the three days prior. I started setting up shop at Heidi’s workspace (she was so thoughtful to share) while we all chatted about the latest Dominion Power statistics and our personal electricity updates, when Sarah said, “Awwww, Rachael, it’s like you never left.” It didn’t take more than a few hours for it to feel just like the good ‘ole days.

Now that the first few weeks have passed and everyone is back in the swing of things, I am so happy to be back at PUNCH! It’s good to be home.