Chasing Orchid: The Countdown

So I’m packing…does anyone have any idea how much shit one can accumulate in 32 years. Wow, I actually ended up shredding papers from the year 1995 on up. It would be one thing if I was just moving across town but I’m moving across the country. I can’t take a whole lot with me.

It’s interesting to go through the years of my life and watch it get sliced into thin little strips of packing material. But hey, at least I’m recycling…right? I find myself looking at pictures, old pictures. It’s a bit of a trip down memory lane actually.

When I first thought about moving across the country I dismissed it as a flight of fancy actually. I never really thought about permanently moving out of my hometown. It’s a big urban center that has so many things to offer. Great food, hopping nightlife, wonderful arts etc. But the more I pondered the idea the more I realized I’d had enough of the big city life.

I want to be somewhere warm, relaxed, simply put, I want a more laid back lifestyle. I’m tired of always being on the go, and the city just seems to do that. Don’t get me wrong, I love being active, but I want a place where I can be that way doing what I love, hiking, swimming and exploring. The big city just doesn’t lend itself to that kind of thing.

Luckily, being in the teaching field has opened up a wide world of opportunities for me. And I do mean a world. I can teach practically anywhere in the country and there are also programs that allow me to teach overseas. Traveling around the world has always been a dream of mine, and now, the opportunity is there, staring me in the face. I would be a fool not to take it.

The journey I’m about to embark on started over a year ago when I attended an educational conference in Baltimore. I found that my specialty happens to be in an in demand field. As I wandered the conference, I was accosted (I kid you not) by districts wanting me to teach for them. Everywhere from Seattle to North Carolina and even the Virgin Islands tried to recruit me. It was then that I realized not only was I in a field I loved, but also one that could take me literally around the world. How lucky am I?

With this in mind, I visited a few places I thought I might like to teach, fell in love with one of them…completely head over heels in love. Have you ever walked off a plane and sighed contentedly, feeling like you’d finally found “home?” That was how I felt when I deplaned in Maui’s airport.

Kismet was with me and has been since I decided this was where I wanted to live. I called the recruiter, inquired about the job availability and was pleasantly surprised to find they were coming to my city to interview in a few days. Even better, she had an opening in a perfect time slot for me to go and see her. I was offered the job after a 45 minute interview. I couldn’t have asked for happier news.

Now granted, it hasn’t been all roses, the stress of moving is definitely upon me (more on that next week). I have to figure out how to contain 32 years of my life in these boxes in a little under a month. Licensing is a bit of a muddle also, the information in the packet reads a bit like VCR instructions. However, as a modern day MGF, I’m sure I’ll figure it out sooner than later.

Meanwhile….back to packing. *happily tosses more of my past into the wastebasket*