Should I stay or should I go now?

Change.
Life is full of changes - some expected, some unexpected.
I find myself today at a crossroads - a chance has come for a major change in my life and the time to make the decision is short.

I have been with my current employer in various forms since 8/8/88, almost 19 years now.
An Opportunity has arisen to leave this employer and join a MUCH smaller company, a company where I'll be more than just an ID number on my badge.

After being with a company for so long, one can start to become complacent - it is a rut, but a comfortable rut.

A lot of people would probably love to be in my situation, happy in the current job - and being enticed by another one to switch. It is definitely a good feeling - to feel wanted.

However, as in most things in life, the decision may look simple on the surface, but deep down, it is MUCH more complicated.

If I leave my current employer "Company X", I leave behind the many friends I have made over the past 19 years. I also leave behind my reputation and what little "fame" with my co-workers I might have.

"Company Y" offers new challenges and new opportunities, but being a smaller startup company, there is always the nagging worry about how long they will last.
During the "dot com" years of the late 90s, "startups" were equated with shooting stars - flaring up brightly very quickly, but then dying down just as quickly.

"Company X" - my current employer was a startup itself at one time - roughly thirty years ago.
You can bet there were people just like myself having similar thoughts when they had the chance to make the change in their lives and come to work for this company.
For a lot of those people, this was the right move. For others... well...

The decision is not a quick one - I am finding that if I had to make a snap decision - whether to stay or go - my answer keeps changing almost as fast as the hands on my clock.

Unlike the song by the immortal band "The Clash" - there will not be trouble if I stay with "Company X" and I certainly hope there would not be twice as much if I join "Company Y".

Sometime I wish life had an "Undo" button like a word processor - this way you could take a chance, and if it turned out to be the wrong decision - no harm done.

I was told in the interview I will probably have a couple days to decide - to decide "Should I stay or should I go now?"