I plan for changes for a long time before they happen. I just have a gut feeling that I will do something in a few years’ time and then the idea bounces around in my head without taking much shape. Sure, I daydream and imagine what it will be like, but generally I don’t take steps towards it until it leaps up with an urgency I would not have predicted the week before. Suddenly, things seem to fall into place, and I must play catch up to turn the vague idea into reality.
I was like that when I decided to go to university. I talked about it, had a nebulous dream and did nothing for five years. Then I made up my mind from one day to the next and plunged headfirst without testing the waters. While I am not a strong swimmer, I know I can always dogpaddle my way to the side of the pool. I have lived my life by this metaphor and I always make a bigger splash than I ever thought I could.
When I began my teaching career in my early 40s, I walked into my principal’s office on the very first day and announced I would be applying for a teacher exchange the moment I became eligible. I did nothing towards it until that time arrived and then applied on what seemed like a whim. The moment I was accepted, I went into her office and reminded her of the conversation we had five years earlier. She remembered it well and approved my application. That’s how in 2008 we moved to Switzerland.
I have done the same thing when I accepted the principal’s position at Lyndhurst and then bought my house after a cursory glance. It just felt right. I love that quirky house in which I live, and I have enjoyed some very happy years there. I can’t believe that I moved in seven years ago this month! But change is in the air.
That big pool is beckoning once more. Do I dare jump? Of course! For the past three years I have been mulling over where to next. Canberra seemed the logical spot. My daughter lives there and the place has grown on me. The first few times I visited, it seemed cold and sterile, too many apartments and too many roads that go in circles. The CBD felt soulless. It took me quite a while to find the hidden gems, mainly in the inner north but some also on the south side. I have grown to love the dog parks, the lake, the cafés and of course all the culture that only a capital city can to offer.
Without any hope of a successful outcome, I sent an email to the Director in charge of my work unit. I asked whether I could move to Canberra and keep my job at Orange as much of what we do can be done from home. To my amazement and delight she has come up with an even better plan. She has been able to transfer my job to Queanbeyan, less than half an hour’s drive from the ACT. All of the sudden, that nebulous future plan has come into sharp focus. The job starts in January. I will have to get my cottage ready for sale and move within six months.
I have started the clearing out process. I’m filling Otto bins with accumulated papers while some useful items to go to Charity. On the 19th of August, I will hold a garage sale and slowly but surely, I will whittle down excess baggage. After that, I will have to fix all those pesky things I have left for another day.
I have a place to go to, so I don’t have to worry about the Canberra end. After being somewhat inert for a couple of years, I will face plenty of upheaval in the next few months. There is nothing like a deadline to get me going.
From Quill to Quote 