Thank you for your response. I've meant to reply for some time but decided to wait until I submitted my letter of resignation - which I did this week. Now I only have a few days of notice to work.

It was amazing looking into the faces of different people as I told them I was leaving my job. At work, the looks were mainly shock and sometimes concern. The most common question was "Do you have another job?" Ironically, there was a large amount of "I wish I could do that." when I explained a little.

It was strikingly different among my non-work friends. At a volunteer group I've been involved in for a few years, the immediate response was congratulations. These are people who know the "real me", so it was very validating. Even before I said anything, a few knew something important had happened by the difference in my expression.

So, now I'm counting the days.