Thursday, December 10, 2009

The Vacation and the Cave-In


Needless to say, Sistah' Girl and I had a trip to remember at Disneyworld earlier this month. It was amazing! Filled with lots of great moments, laughter filled (and even a few tearful ones - in good ways). More about that on the Disney blog, but we couldn't be more grateful for the time away from the high stress medical world we both work in. And we couldn't have done it w/o all the help from our families. THANK YOU MOMS and DADS!

I came home to a mountain of work at the office and at home, but with a renewed spirit.
Unforunately, the high from the vacation didn't bouy me as long as I had hoped it would, but I'd like to think that short respite still helps me maintain a focus on my goals. Yes, it's very clear that I do need to change career fields. Instead of being normally irritated with work, I found myself deeply unhappy when I returned. Dont' get me wrong, I'm terribly grateful to have paycheck. In fact, next week I'll be studying to renew my certification and traveling to Arizona to take a necessary test (thank God for Dad's graciousness with his of frequent flier miles and their support in getting my certification fixed!). But I'm reminded that I need to continually work to get my financial situation a bit more flexible - and that still means moving in with a roommate and throwing myself into the whirlwind that is the writing and theatrical world. It's actually exciting, but I know there is a long road ahead of me to get there. And I won't lie. That is scary. I like things to go according to plan (though they often don't). But I was reminded of the saying, "What's the worst that can happen? Will I be eaten by wolves? No? Okay then. Nothing THAT bad can happen."

I know I have the support of those that truly love me to get me through. Let me tell you, that support is indispensable, even to an uber independent woman like me. No one reaches a goal alone!

That said - my land lord has impeccable timing...

This Saturday, she's coming out to take a look at a list of repairs I got an estimate on last month. And now, I'll be able to add another thing to the list.
Below is a picture of my storage shed. I know it's a bit dark, but you should still be able to make out my...um... unplanned sky light that happened from the last rain. In fact, I'm pretty sure if you walked on the roof, your foot would go right through.
In that shed was camping equipment, childhood stuffed toys from my childhood, and Christmas decorations. I got off work early to spend some daylight getting the junk out before the rain hit again last night, and thankfully, most of the important stuff was salvagable.

I did find a box of things from my previous marriage. Not a big box. Not even a full box. But just a box of pictures. And ya know what? Two thoughts struck me.
#1) "Isn't a bride supposed to be most beautiful on her wedding day? I look like an awkward kid. I'm so much more confident and happy with my apperance on-an-everyday basis now than I was then." Wow! I guess I've come a long way!"
#2) "Who would have thought that 6 years and 'forever' would fit into a box?"
I have mostly positive memories of being married, and I'm grateful for that. We had some great times, but I'm glad one of us realized that we weren't the love of each other's lives and freed us up to go and seek that happiness.

Sometimes it's great to be reminded that we're not defective. We're just all people - imperfect and beautiful in our own ways, each of us healing from something and capable of great love in the mean time. I realized a long time ago that getting divorced was part of my journey, and that difficult experience helped make me the confident woman that I am today. And, at the risk of sounding pompous, I like me.

Anyway, everything was a good reminder that all we truly have, despite our best laid plans, is the moment we're in. That every "forever" will eventually come down to the name on a headstone or a cardboard box. As Scrooge learned, it's how we treat our fellow man that makes all the difference in this life.

My challenge this year?
Find a way to Pay it Foreward.

2 comments:

  1. That completely sucks about your shed!!!! I'm glad you didn't lose absolutely everything, but what a headache to come home to!

    It's so good that you had a lovely time in WDW.

    As for the career change...scary stuff, but that's when the exciting things happen!

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  2. Finally read this blog! So sorry to hear about the shed. But I love your scrooge quote. Borrowed it for my page.

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