This is a re-post of something I wrote one year ago this week. At the time, Id just walked away from a job I dearly loved, in a tough economy, at the age of 57. I had no plan, just a strong conviction and a lot of faith. A year later I am blessed to work with dear friends doing something I love even more. My life is full and challenging, I am rested and relaxed, I have more time to spend with my family, and stress is virtually a thing of the past. What a difference a year makes. Own your life, my friends. Whether in work or love or faith. You are more powerful than you know. For those who think I’m crazy … In 1981 I quit my job and traveled the country for a year in a ’69 Chevy Suburban with my husband, Floyd, a 3-year-old, a newborn and our dog. Everyone thought I was crazy, but it was one of the best years of my life. Floyd died in a tragic accident 3 years later, and I had the memories of that very special year to sustain me. In 1986, after my doctor told me I had an ulcer and needed to change “something” in my life, I quit my job, packed up my three children (we added a third just before Floyd’s death) and left Alaska for a “fresh start.” Everyone thought I was crazy. Nestled in a small house on a hilltop in Oregon, where I was able to support my little family on a part time job, I began to heal. I never looked back. In 1987 along came Dan Shoemaker who asked me to marry him and move to Colorado where we would blend our family of 7. I did. Some people thought I was crazy. I can’t say everyone, because my mother was thrilled I was marrying a man with a steady paycheck (Dan was a Captain in the USAF). After 25 years, although no longer married, Dan and I are still together and our family has grown to 26, including 14 grandchildren. I have never looked back. In 1992, after a 3-year tour in Guam, Dan and I were transferred to Biloxi, MS. We hated it there. The children’s school grounds had fences with barbed wire and the military deemed the area “off limits” after dark because of the crime. At the end of the first week of school when I asked my son what he’d learned, he told me, “When you hear a loud bang on the playground hit the dirt.” That night I suggested that Dan retire and we relocate. I didn’t care to where, but we couldn’t stay there. He trusted my instincts and in January 1993 we moved to Fort Worth, TX, where I found a job with a start-up coding company and took my first step into healthcare. People thought we were crazy. We never looked back. Last week I got that familiar feeling in my gut … it was time for another life change. For just a minute I was afraid. Then I looked back at my life, remembered everything I’ve just written here, and I knew. If I could do it with no money, no home, and a family depending on me, then I could do it now. I could be fearless at least one more time in my life. So I jumped …
Posted on: Sun, 20 Oct 2013 12:36:00 +0000
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