Saying Goodbye

On Thursday June, 5, 2014 we celebrated our departure from the Houston area.  We invited friends, work colleagues and neighbors.  What a fabulous mix of diversity, one of our favorite things about Houston. Seeking a happy hour location on a Thursday can be a difficult endeavor but the Amazon Grill was a great central locale with fast food service that allowed us to run a tab, eat plantain chips and salsa gratis, and had plenty of room the 20+ of us who gathered together.  The menu offered yucca fries, hamburgers on yummy buns, empanadas, fajitas, and even chicken tinga.

Kathy had friends from UH as well previous positions. Our precious neighbors chatted with Kathy's flight instructor and our bowling  teammates regaled us with tales about their lives while they listened to me tell them how to make a moose leave you alone by holding a stick up like an antler.  We had a great time although a few tears fell.

Joy's last day at school was very emotional!  Frustration lead the way as it seemed all the work would never get completed.  Students were excited to see her new haircut as she cut off 10 inches to donate to Locks of Love, which was her tenth donation. Students received a copy of the book they had written, published and named Bring Peace Everywhere, named to represent BPE, the school's initials and to recognize our upcoming adventure. It was hard saying goodbye to such great kids.  They will be successful in whatever they do because Joy instilled the knowledge that if you can read you can achieve.  The day dragged on until 7:00 pm, spoiling our plans for a final rematch of tabletop shuffleboard at Lakeview RV park.

Getting the RV inspected was the final hurdle before leaving Houston.  With that completed, Kathy hooked up the toad while Joy bought tacos for breakfast.  First stop was Union Grove Park near Stillhouse Lake to say our goodbyes to Kathy's mom.

So, all is great and we are off on our adventure.  We hope we can share this in a way that is entertaining enough for you to continue to follow.

Finally told the boss…..

I finally told my boss that I was unfulfilled at my job and planning to resign.  I had been having this conversation in my head for months and the desire to quit my job for about 2 years.  There is just nothing like climbing the career ladder for 18 years, only to find that the ladder is leaning against the wrong building.

Thanks to the Landmark Forum, I decided it was time to live a life that is powerful and to live a life I love. Over the past 6 months I finally figured out that my unhappiness at work wasn’t because of bosses, or other people, or the organization as a whole – it was simply because I was uninspired.  I have figured out that I don’t like managing people – a task I equate with babysitting – only not the “fun” babysitting of babies or kids, but babysitting adults.  Blah!  I discovered that my passion lied in projects, investigations, initiatives, etc.  I need the finality of something in order to feel accomplished.  “That’s done – now what’s next?”  I need to conduct research, to learn, to set all the pieces before me and see how they fit together.  I simply lack the empathy required to lead people and don’t take pleasure in seeing others grow, mature, succeed, etc.  I don’t think this makes me a bad person, it just is what it is.

My boss was incredible.  I felt as though I had nothing to lose when I finally sat down in front of him so, although I was anxious, I was not afraid.  I am glad I brought forth a proposal that would allow me to stay with the department until our adventure begins next summer and, as it turns out, what he is allowing me to do is even better than what I proposed.  I am grateful for his understanding, support, and shared excitement and finally feel as though 1,000 pounds have been lifted off me.

I guess I could lament that I wasted 18 years finding this out, but I feel I’m on the path I’m supposed to be on and am grateful that I am figuring it out now while I still have time to simply change paths.  Every now and then anxiety sneaks in and I realize I am a little concerned about what my subordinates will think about my voluntary demotion; but then I remind myself that it doesn’t matter what others think.  This is MY life, MY path, and MY decision.  I’ll be long gone while most of them suffer through their lives and jobs, never realizing that they do actually have the power to choose something else.

About Us

We are a middle aged couple who have reached career pinnacles only to find ourselves asking, “Is this all there is?” Recent Landmark Education graduates, we have decided to throw our hat over the wall and then figure out how to get it.

Our plan?  Quit our jobs, sell our house and just about everything we own, buy an RV and hit the road full time for at least a year.  

First destination??  Tok, Alaska where we'll be volunteering for 2 months at the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge!  Mode of transportation?  2006 Itasca Sundancer (31 ft class C) Departure date? June 8, 2014

We're calling it "pretirement" and the adventure of a lifetime. No waiting until we're too old or too sick to enjoy life.  Of course, our "kids," Keila and Francis, will be joining us.  Both are of the 4-legged variety and just as adventurous as we are.  

What will we find?  Life.  Why don't you join us?  ;-)