Six Months Ago

Six months ago I left my position with no safety net. No plan. Very un-Virgo-like of me.

I spent the first month in New Zealand and Australia.

The day after I came home, Don was laid off.

I spent the next five months figuring out what to do next.

I have described this time as feeling like I am on summer vacation without knowing when school will start up again.

It also feels like the first year of the pandemic again, but with being able to leave the house.

There is so much I want to say to help remember this time, and so much I don't want to say in case I am on a job interview and someone reads my blog to learn more about me. I tend to hide behind knowing only a few people read any of my posts, but you know that always ends up being the wrong person. The one person I am trying to impress with how together I am, when inside I am just as much of a mess as everyone else.

Over the past six months I have:

• Read 67 books
• Wrote 103 blog posts
• Saw at least 20 plays (several on and off-Broadway, one in Australia)
• Seeing five more plays this weekend, and three the next
• Saw at least 7 movies
• Volunteered with five organizations:
• Alliance Francaise
• Bridge Academy
• Dress for Success
• English School
• Ewing Historical Society
• Caught up with friends (and continue to do so)
• Doctor's appointments
• Rested my left foot to heal it
• Went on three bike rides -- one on the tandem
• Wasted too much time playing Spelling Bee, Wordle, Connections, and Solitaire on my phone
• Took a photography class (one class to go)
• Took roller skating classes (which is not the best way to heal a hurt foot)
• Cheerleaded Don as he looks for a new job

Things I wish I could say I did:

• Learned a foreign language
• Traveled the globe (at least after I came home from Sydney)
• Started a best selling novel
• Decluttered photo albums
• Cleaned out closets
• Cleaning out the basement
• Cleaned out the garage (detecting a theme here!)
• Donated the excess from decluttering and cleaning

I did send out a few resumes, and went on some job interviews. I learned I would rather freelance than have a steady job, that we are financially able for both of us to not work. It would be better if we both brought in some income, but freelancing/gig work would give me the flexibility to follow my dreams. It might even lead to a regular job. A new career. A new passion.

I was turned down from one such position by someone desperately seeking people to help her because she sensed I didn't have the passion she needed. She hopes I find it. 

I hope I find it, too.