Spring Break is over now, so yesterday it was back to class for me, followed by a return to work after class. I wouldn't have needed to go back to work last night, except I'm taking today as my final Personal Day Off (Personal Days are use-it-or-lose-it types), and I wanted to finish up a couple things first.
I left work around 10:00, and as I was driving home, I didn't think about work (beyond a brief prayer of thanks that I had gone back after class, because I caught a problem in time to get it fixed). Instead, my mind was full of all the things I need to do to get ready for the house sale or the trip.
I feel the difference. At work, my concern is becoming trying to pass on my knowledge to the newer people before I go, clearing out the unnecessary things, and making sure they don't just box up my trash when I leave and save it for me in case I come back (that actually happened to me once, only they didn't know it was trash).
Really, though, I'm done. My mind has shifted gears. My last day at work is April 16 (but who's counting?), and I'm eager to get started on the next stage in my life.
And at the same time, I'm scared to leave the familiar routine with its steady paycheck and people who I can laugh as well as commiserate with. It's frightening to be leaving my moorings and stepping into an uncertain future (much like I imagine that first step onto the Grand Canyon Skywalk would be). I'm plagued with all sorts of "What if's," from the financial to the practical to the relational.
But in the end, though I have fears, I have no doubts. There are no nagging voices in the back of my head or in my gut saying, "Are you sure you want to do this?" No, all the nags are at peace. And so am I.
5 comments:
I (kinda) know how you feel, Skye. Uncertainty is fearful, but nothing new comes without risk.
I have a few questions and I'm not sure you posted about the details. Have you purchased the RV yet? When do you leave? Are you driving (in your car or the RV if you have it) to Texas or flying there or is Mom driving to you? Are you selling your car? Is the car going in storage too? How long will you be traveling?
Maybe it would be better to write the answers in a post.
God Bless, and I hope you swing by my states capitol and have a cup of tea.
Janice,
My mom bought the RV. It's 29 or 30 feet long, and we'll be towing my Corolla. Her car can't be towed, I think because it's all-wheel drive. My daughter will keep driving the Honda Passport while I'm gone.
I have to stay in California at least until the end of May, because I need to finish my Anatomy & Physiology class, so sometime after that, I'll drive out to Texas (probably tow a little U-Haul with my stuff). My mom and I will do a couple short shake-out trips close to home (and her mechanic) before we head off for somewhere far away.
We plan on being on the road for about a year, making loops that bring us back to Texas (and my sister) now and then. The only places we have to be at a certain time are: Kalispell, Montana in August for my mom's high school reunion, and Florida in late January, when my friend will fly to join us and her daughter's family for a Caribbean cruise.
The rest of our plans are vague: The West in the summer (except for the really hot places), the Northeast in the fall (for leaf-peeping), the Southeast in the winter, and the middle of the country in the spring. We'll bring my sister along when we can.
During that time, I'll be taking a bunch of prerequisite classes online to get ready for my Ultrasound program, which will start in May 2008. I'll have to be settled back at home--my friend's spare bedroom--by August 2008, when the clinical part of my ultrasound program starts. The only snag with that will be if they can't find a clinical site for me in the area, in which case I'd have to go somewhere with a clinical site and try to find a cheap apartment to live in.
There, that's all of it. I should be seeing you in the spring...
"The untold want, by life and land ne'er granted,
Now, Voyager, sail thou forth to seek and find."
How brave you are. It sounds as if you're living the way the Lord intended... Stepping out in in faith.
Then again, the hippies lived like that... Footloose and free...
Maybe you're a hippie who is stepping out in faith...
Yes, surely that's it.
I am glad you're getting away from that job. And, I'll be praying for you.
Hello Skye!
It didn't look like my intended comment went through so here I go again.
Congratulations on your decision to go on a road trip with your mom for a whole year. I think it's wonderful to have the opportunity to spend a lot of quality time with your mom plus see other parts of our great nation. Your decision to change jobs to a more fulfilling and satisfying one is wise.
Have a great trip and life.
Clay (former co-worker)
cmhogenson@ca.rr.com
Have I mentioned before how much I admire your boldness? You're doing what so many of the rest of us are too chicken to do. So at least for now...I'm going to live vicariously through you.
What a wonderful opportunity!
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