The Journey Begins

This is a journey of beginnings and  endings.  It is the end of a life as I have known it for many years. As I start on this new journey I have discovered many things .  First and foremost I have had the privilege of hearing first hand what many people only have said about them after they die.  This past week I said good-bye to a job of over 20 years.  At my departure party I was told so many wonderful things by so many people with whom I have worked.  The week end before this I had the wonderful pleasure of spending time and saying good-bye to my family, all of whom made me felled incredibly loved. It made me realize how I should not neglect telling people how much they mean to me. Why is it so hard to tell people how much they mean to us?  To each of you receiving this,  know that you in some way have made an indelible mark on my life which I appreciate and hold dear. 

Secondly I have learned that most of us have much more than we need.  In fact more than we can ever use, but we cling to it with great ferocity. However once you start to let go of all of this material clutter the feeling of freedom is quite surprising and unexpected.  So enough sermonizing,  is that a word???  I am about to embark upon one of the great journeys of my life.  Almost 4 years after the death of my soul mate I am attempting to find new purpose and goals for myself.  As many of you know I will be leaving next week for Guyana, South America to begin service in the Peace Corps. This comes about 1 1/2 years after I received my first post card from the Peace Corps, saying  "Have you ever thought about joining the Peace Corps?" I can honestly say I never had, but just prior to receiving this card I was searching for some new way to approach life. The more I investigated this option the more right it seemed. As I stand here today it seems perfect.  The journey has not been without difficultly. The signs you see above had been up since the middle of August. Not anticipating the great October collapse I did not also know that 3 weeks before departure I would still have my house unrented and unsold.  Then out of the blue a gentleman calls and rents the house for the exact amount of time that I will be gone. He will be moving in as I leave. Life is always a surprise. So things continue to work out.  I start my journey next Sunday in Philadelphia, where I have never been to visit. I will start at the Liberty Bell, proceed to Independence Hall and finish at the Rocky statue and trying to do a Rocky climb of the steps. We'll see how that goes. After a short orientation on Monday we will proceed to JFK for departure to Guyana. I received a call from the Peace Corps representatives in Guyana on Friday and now know that we will be in Georgetown for three days before going to the Essequibo Region. I have not attempted to imagine or anticipate anything but have decided to go with the flow.My challenges so far have consisted in removing all personnal things from my home, which seemed to multiply by the minute, and to figure out how to downsize my life into two suitcases.... I am still working on that one. My emotional roller coaster is beginning to level out for a while but it has been quite a ride. Things have worked out my bills are now autopaid and my Real Estate is rented and thanks to my daughter and Holly I can now use Skype, a definite disadvantage if you are not looking your best, but actually a wonderful invention. Next step Guyana.