Starting all over...again

There was a time I wished I could reinvent myself. I even changed my nickname for awhile and tried new hairstyles. My changes were never very drastic, but it was certainly an attempt to begin again.

Then came the day I watched my mother in pain in the hospital. I knew moving back to Indiana was my next bold move. My principal suggested I take a leave of absence and rent my Mesa home rather than resign and put my house on a recession's market.

What is faith if you con't live on it once in awhile?!

My friend Lori flew to Arizona to help me drive the two dogs and miscellaneous items back in my brand new car. (A lawyer suggested I go to a car lot and get the car of my dreams as I would not have stellar credit for a number of years.) I drove during the day with Lori driving at night and the dogs requesting stops along the way.

Back home (again) in Indiana...

A good enough job allowed me rent good enough housing. That led to eleven years at Jay County High School building Thespian Troupe #574 to a State-level competitive organization. Which included a move to Ohio, marriage to my high school boyfriend (nearly 30 years after our last Prom), and another move back to Jay County, the loss of four dogs in a year, and taking in three more dogs. Those eleven years had their challenges and mulligans, but nothing like the decision to leave Jay County and the comfort of routine, however dramatic a routine it was.

There is something satisfying choosing a last house and a final destination. This satisfaction I'd never felt prior to coming "home" to North Manchester, IN. My life was spent learning, growing, challenging myself and my students to produce the impossible--always trying to better ourselves and our position at the State level.

Crazy, isn't it, for a theatre person to just stop doing theatre? I'll find my way back to the stage and the grease paint. There are those plays I've written I need to publish...or that book that I've always wanted to write.

About a year ago, I asked myself: What if my husband and I slowed down and bit, lived closer to family, and enjoyed our weekends? What if we retired in a town we chose because we loved the trees, college campus, and our final house? What if I worked less and slept more?

My challenge now is accepting I'm in my final chapter. That is a paradigm change! Although there are sure to be adventures ahead, at the present time, I am learning to relax, garden, and sleep!