Back From Parental Leave

I was on parental leave for the last three months and in regard to the main topic of this blog they went differently than I expected.

First and foremost, this parental leave ends with me being happy and a bit wistful. It was a great time to bond with our little one. I could clear my head from all work-related thoughts since many years. It always is good to have a reset. It enables questioning the status quo and not getting stuck in established patterns.

In Germany, parental leaves are supported by the government and somehow easier to exercise than in other countries, as far as I know. It is not a corporate benefit but a legal framework by public law and financially supported by the government. I consider it a good time, not a stressful one. Okay, it is stressful but overall in a positive way.

My intentions about using the time to watch all the WWDC sessions I bookmarked and write a post for every single one of them at best did not work out at all.

I watched only some. But I am fine with that. By now, you can read a ton of articles elsewhere about most of the stuff and there is not much I can add to it, I think. But I will take another look at my notes soon. Surprisingly, many sessions were not that thrilling as expected or their title implies. A lot of fields simply are not relevant for me, even though I am curious.

A few months back I also sealed the deal on a new job. This is another change which further improved the experience of the time. There is a clean cut, a new chapter at work. Not dropping out of daily business and then missing out for a while. It is a fresh start. I am excited to get back to work.