Okay so I just got offered this senior project manager gig, right? Like, fully. W-2, benefits, the whole nine yards after like, what, eight years of freelance? All the hustling for little bits of work, patching together enough to cover childcare, the constant anxiety of ‘will this client pay on time?’ – I thought this was the goal. The light at the end of the tunnel. And now I’m looking at the offer letter and my hands are just… clammy. My wife is super stoked, my kid keeps asking if I’m going to be a “real boss now like on TV” – and all I can think is: what if I’m a fraud? I mean, I used to be good at this stuff. Before the baby, before the pandemic, before I quit to stay home. I was managing multi-million dollar projects, I had a team, I knew all the software, the methodologies, the buzzwords. Now? I google basic Excel functions. My coding knowledge is like, 2012 vintage. Agile? Scrum? JIRA? I remember what they *are* conceptually, but the nitty-gritty, the actual day-to-day implementation… it’s a blur. Everything feels like it’s moved on lightyears. I haven't even *seen* a physical office in years, not a proper one anyway. All my interactions have been on Zoom with my mic muted and a messy bun. My professional wardrobe consists of a single decent shirt for client calls and stretchy pants. Am I the only one who feels like they’ve been living under a rock, professionally speaking? Like, my brain just completely rewired itself for ‘potty training’ and ‘meal prep’ and ‘how to fix a clogged toy drain’ and now it can’t switch back. I’m supposed to be a SENIOR project manager. They expect me to hit the ground running, lead teams, make strategic decisions. And here I am, secretly terrified I’m going to be asked to do something basic and just… blank. Like, completely blank out. The imposter syndrome is REAL, it's a physical weight. I keep thinking about all those nights, staring at my laptop, trying to land another gig, another contract, just enough to not dip into savings again. And now I have this, this actual *job*, and I’m just waiting for them to figure out I’m a stay-at-home dad who mostly negotiates with a four-year-old about vegetable consumption. Anyone else feel like they’ve been away from their career for a bit and now it’s just… gone? Like the knowledge evaporated? I mean I don't even — whatever. I’m just gonna try to remember how to format a meeting agenda. This is going to be a disaster.