Today is the last day of my 12-year career at Garmin. Soon every day will feel like a Saturday but today is bittersweet. Yesterday I dropped my dad off at the airport. This morning my brother left before dawn with my sweet Princess Mia Mole Slayer. Today I say goodbye to the friends who have made going to work each day more than a job. Many more goodbyes in the next couple of weeks.
When the countdown to my amazing adventure to travel for a year was more than 30, I would tell anyone I talked to, “51 days till departure!” Once it got below 30 I had to stop counting. Too real. Too overwhelming to think of all the things I need to squeeze in before April 2 and too overwhelming to think about how dramatically my life is about to change.
I’m not crying, I’m just chopping onions
In my last post I was on the thriller portion of the roller coaster. More recently I’ve been riding the section where your stomach is in your throat and your heart is threatening to burst. And oh yeah, the wind is making your eyes water. It’s totally the wind. I’m not crying… right!? Actually the roller coaster metaphor isn’t broad enough to convey how it feels to completely reboot your life. You don’t have time for sadness or frustration on a roller coaster.
A friend posted a Dave Grohl meme on Facebook – if you change the “today” bit to “this exact moment” then it comes a little closer to what it feels like. I’ve been hanging out in the 9, 6, 2 sections more lately. I’m sure I’ll find my way back to #1 & 8, but for now, tying up all the loose ends between work and home feel too monumental to allow much room for happiness and excitement.
This is my first move that I’ve made as an adult (not counting moving across town). I knew it was going to be hard, and if I can allow myself to take a step back from Grohl #9, I can admit that many of my fears were bigger in my mind than in reality. However, I’ve also had a number of unexpected doozies crop up that my inner worry generator hadn’t even considered.
I’m facing having to say the final goodbye to my elderly empress of snuggles, Aiko. I don’t know how old she is since I inherited her, but she’s at least 17, likely more. My awesome vet (who’s also getting ready to embark on an adventure) said that she’d never seen a cat with grey hairs around her eyes before. I’ve known she was in the downhill part of life for a while, but I’m still not ready to say goodbye to this sweet girl.
The other big one is a health issue that has had me in major-freak-out-mode for the last 2 1/2 weeks. My adorable doctor finally said to me, “Try not to freak out, and I know how hard that is, because I’m a major freaker-outer, too. I think God just wanted to play one more joke on you and see how bad you really want to go on this adventure.” I’m waiting for more test results, but the specialist said that they are thinking that it’s something that can be recovered from with a few lifestyle changes. HALLELUJAH! (p.s. googling synonyms of hallelujah is worthless.)
Today also marks the first day of being car-free (still need some work before I’m carefree! sigh…) Sure feels strange after only living in places where a car is so necessary to life that it’s a standard dating profile section right there next to height and body type. My Uber should be arriving soon so time to sign off!
Comments
Christina
Aww! Thanks Daddy!
George Brown
Just think how you come from a long line of adventurers. Your ancestors on both sides of the family one day decided to make the […] Read MoreJust think how you come from a long line of adventurers. Your ancestors on both sides of the family one day decided to make the trip from England, Wales, Holland and other places to move across the ocean to make a new life. Your mother and I less than one year after me graduating from college packed our 1964 plymouth fury and started our drive to Merida, Mexico. When we arrived we found that the people we were told were expecting us to stay with them for the first Summer had no idea that we were coming. But they opened their home and family to us and now many years later we know that we have family in Merida. In the last few weeks and days you have freaked out, laughed, worried, partied and reinforced friendships of a lifetime and you will have even more great times during this adventure. You will persevere and you will grow. I will always be very proud of you. Read Less
Christina
Nope, your comment didn't "go"! thank you! finding the free me! <3
Unknown
I hate being one of those people but not sure my last comment “went”? It was, in a nutshell, finding out who you are by […] Read MoreI hate being one of those people but not sure my last comment “went”? It was, in a nutshell, finding out who you are by ridding yourself of the embellishments aka all your “stuff”. The real Christina free and beautiful! Read Less