I'm very happy to share that I have been invited by the FreeBSD Foundation to provide program management for some of their key initiatives. This is a big moment for me, as it's a return to work after some time away from working.
Not many people know that the last nine months have turned my world upside down in both stressful and wonderful ways.
In October, my partner Simon Adams had a serious motorbike accident in which he broke both his legs. We were away from home when it happened and Simon spent two weeks in Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham, followed by almost another two weeks in Great Western Hospital in Swindon.
Simon returned home in a wheelchair after four weeks and was very much reliant on me for everything.
That's when I heard that I was losing my job.
The end of 2023 was a really hard time for both of us. Simon and I struggled to keep things going; we were stressed and exhausted. Christmas was cancelled because we both caught Covid again.
However, as January arrived, we realized there was a silver lining to losing my job. I was able to spend more time with Simon as he went through rehab, and I had time to recover (slowly) from Covid. Thankfully, we had insurance to cover Simon’s income, so we didn't have financial worries to add to the situation.
Simon began to regain his independence slowly as his injuries healed. Being at home so much and keeping Simon company, I was able to start dedicating some time to open source projects.
I returned to the TODO (OSPO) Group and joined OpenChain Project and CHAOSS. I got out of the house solo for the first time to attend an OpenUK consultation at the Houses of Parliament. I also had time to reconnect with some people I hadn’t seen in a while.
As the days grew longer, I applied for The Linux Foundation funding to attend the Open Source Summit in Seattle. It was granted, and I had an absolutely wonderful time meeting new people and staffing the CHAOSS booth. (And that's a photo of me at the top of the Space Needle - the weather was incredible the whole time I was there.)
At the conference, I chanced to meet a new connection, Greg Wallace, who shared the work that the FreeBSD Foundation is doing.
We stayed in touch, and I'm really glad we did. I'm just getting started with the Foundation and already having an awesome time.
Simon is much recovered and has gone back to work part-time. He’s due for more operations on his legs this year and next year. So, for me to have the chance to take on work that fits our situation is amazing and perfect for me right now.
I've had wonderful support from so many people in my life. Family, friends, and SO MANY people in my network have helped me through this period, whether they knew about what was happening or not.
