Old Year…New Year…
It seems like everyone’s doing a 2009 wrap up, or a “looking to the year ahead” post. I kinda feel like this whole blog has been a 2009 wrap up, and I don’t have the foggiest of clues what 2010 holds in store for me. So, there you go, there’s your wrap up and your “looking ahead,” all in one little sentence. Beat that for simplicity!
Seriously, this has been one heck of a year for me, starting with making plans for my move to Israel, purging like 3/4 of my STUFF, shipping the rest over here ahead of my arrival, leaving everything I know in Seattle and actually moving here, realizing that my timing sucks and between that and not being able to find work here coming to the hard decision that I need to move back, calling this whole thing a sabbatical (mostly to make myself feel better and less like an abject failure), making return plans, meanwhile having my internship turn into 1/2 time paid work, and still to come arranging a return shipment for my remaining STUFF and actually getting back stateside.
whew
Guess this year has been an adventure if nothing else. And the first thing 2010 holds for me is finding work when I get back to Seattle and starting to rebuild and remake my life. Since I don’t plan on staying in Seattle for any longer than necessary to save up enough to move and start over yet again, I don’t want to think of that as my ultimate “goal” for the year. In fact I’ve decided that I have no “goals” for 2010 except to walk the Seattle Marathon in November, but that’s for another post entirely. I plan on making the most of whatever life lobs at me and enjoying the process as much as possible. I do want to say this, Happy New Year to you and yours, I hope you can look back on 2009 and the first decade of the 21st century and have good memories. And I sincerely hope you can look ahead to 2010 and the upcoming decade with optimism and joy for what’s to come.
Look for some posts in the coming weeks that I hope will start to make some sense, be a little less rambling and just a tad more focused…and if all goes according to the haphazard plan trying valiantly to form itself in my brain, that will include some concrete steps that will help some of you start down a road of Simplifying and Decluttering your own lives. Believe it or not, with all the rambling, hand wringing and soul searching you’ve read on here, I am in fact in a very good place right now, and even with all the questions yet to be answered, I hope to be able to help some of you come to the some realizations about your own lives and situations, and offer some tips for finding your own version of happiness.
Shalom from Jerusalem -
Jesse
Interesting blog you have here. Much better than the “what my kid did today” sort so prevalent these days. I can certainly relate to the “WTF!” concept of life. I’m 3 months back from a tour in Afghanistan, and questioning everything I thought I wanted before I left. Would you say, overall, your leap to Israel was a good thing? Somedays I just want to hop the next flight to wherever. You did what many just dream of, remember that.
Thanks for commenting Cindge, and thank you for serving. I suspect you don’t hear that nearly enough.
As for my leap to Israel, it was absolutely a good thing. Are there things I would do differently if confronted with an opportunity like this again? Sure. I never would have shipped all my STUFF until I was dead certain I was staying…But overall I’ve learned more about myself and what I want out of life in the last 4 months than I ever would have been able to had I stayed back in Seattle. I have more direction now than ever before, and I actually have something to work towards. That’s priceless as far as I’m concerned.
I am definitely conscious of the fact that what I did is something many only dream of. All I can really say is, if you have the opportunity to pack a backpack and hit the road for a time, DO IT. You won’t regret it.
Jesse my daughter sent me your blog with the caption ‘sound familiar’. I spent June 2009 to July 2010 in Newfoundland Canada. I left everything except what I could fit in my car in Ontario moved to my Heart’s Desire, new no one, and only been there once for a week.
Long story short couldn’t find a place to live, got the job though, I arrived back in Ontario July 21 with my dog named Grace, I have and am restling with feelings of failure and embarressment as I settle back in and look for a job.
Yes I am calling it a sabbatical, and yes I would do it over again in a heartbeat.
@ Kate – Well first of all I’m sorry for the feelings of failure etc…trust me when I say I understand. It sounds like you have a healthy outlook on things as they stand now, which is the important part. Good luck on the job hunt and thanks for stopping by! Thank your daughter for me as well, it does me a lot of good to know that people are forwarding my posts to their loved ones!