Ten years ago today, on my fortieth birthday, I began a new life. On that day, after ten years of working in ecology labs and non-profits, then another ten years of staying home with our children, I logged in for my first day of work as a Happiness Engineer at Automattic, the makers of WordPress.com.

My life is forever changed because of this work with Automattic. I’ve met and worked with people from all over the world, many of whom are now dear friends. I’ve worked from home all this time and was able to model at-home productivity for our kids when their schooling moved online during the pandemic. I’ve supported customers, led teams, built training academies, left to help others build careers in customer support, returned to my home at Automattic, managed programs, directed support operations, and written over a million words at work. I’ve discovered myself.

When I started my life as a Happiness Engineer on my fortieth birthday, I felt like the luckiest woman alive. Ten years later, I feel the same way. I am surrounded by people who inspire me, who make me laugh, who are wildly intelligent. Happiness Engineer is the greatest job title I think I’ll ever have, and I’ve absorbed the ethos to my core. In every role I’m in, I aspire to engineer happiness for the people I serve.

Thank you to Automattic and to all of my colleagues there ♥️.