If I thought a few changes were going to make my life easier, I couldn’t have been further from the truth. In the midst of moving from Iowa to Florida and back to Iowa, I moved into another chapter. More like two more chapters.
I enjoyed my time in Florida with its beautiful garden landscapes and a vast ocean of Caribbean blue and waves (I will tell you about my Florida adventure in another blog). However, I wasn’t as realistic about the transition as I should have been. My visualization of the outcome was quite distorted and my daughter finally said to me, “The vacation’s over, isn’t it?” Yah, she was quite right and I knew I had given my all to making this change! But, the Florida life just didn’t prove to be for me. Back to Iowa it would be. I had memorized the entire route to and fro through the bustling cities of Atlanta, Nashville and St. Louis. I have to admit I was not looking forward to a 23 hour trip back to Iowa with my car packed to the brim (much more than I had brought with me). And I was a bit discouraged that I hadn’t hit the jackpot in the richest county in Florida. All I could think about on the drive back (that I had made several times) was, “Where do I go from here?” It seemed my life was at a stand still mentally and monetarily. I had bills to pay and time on my hands. What was I thinking when I gave up a great job that I enjoyed and whisked myself away to the land of plenty? “I need a job, I need a job” was chanting over and over again in my head, which seemed to ache each day with increasing intensity. The Universe was speaking back to me telling me that it didn’t like my negative thoughts.
I started to visualize about the job I had accidentally come across online (along with the other 100’s of jobs I’d applied for). It was a travel agent for a company out of Massachusetts. I was going to interview over the phone in a couple of days for a job I had no idea if I was even prepared for except for the fact that I had become an accomplished traveler. Deep down I knew this career path was what I wanted (and needed) to help me get to the next step in my adventures. And behold, after three interviews, I got the job. I was now going to be able to complete my goals of traveling around the world to the places I had only heard about!
You would think this is where my story ends , right? Oh no, it gets better! In the midst of acquiring a new job, I also moved in with my fiancé. Nothing out of the ordinary with telling you that. People do that everyday, right? But as we were settling in for the winter, which would teach us just how much we could stand each other in closed quarters, a new arrival lands on our doorstep…Lexy Marie. Lexy is my gifted granddaughter (my fiancé’s granddaughter). She’s a free spirit with her own opinions at such an early age. At that moment, the structure of my world changed from moving at my own pace with my OCD quirks to moving to the pace of five-year old. I am now responsible for making sure she brushes her teeth or she has her snow pants in her backpack. I am thrust into a world that is all to familiar but unfamiliar. I look back to the time when my kids were in school and all the activities they bestowed upon me. I was carpool Mom, watch from the bleachers Mom, field trip Mom, etc. Now, I’m finding I am torn between moving forward in a career I love and still wanting to write that novel. Do I no longer have the extra time for that next adventure? My mind spins daily, wanting to find the balance of it all! I tell myself to be patient and move slowly toward my goals. “They only grow up once” my Mom used to tell me. I thought she was talking about my kids. Maybe God has other plans for me and I just haven’t listened close enough.
I will write when I can..read between bed stories and sunrises. I will plan for the adventures I long for and fit them in when the spaces of time open up. Maybe I will start a blog about being Nana Tee!
What I am actually trying to say is that life will throw you curveballs when you least expect it. Take these opportunities to improve and enrich your life in ways you never expected! I am thankful I took the side roads to get where I am!
And so it is, Lexy is one of my newest adventures! Until next time….
Travel Agent from home. Let me plan your next adventure!!
Adventures of a Traveling Sales Woman 
Tawanda! We always handle life’s adventures!
Is that my new nickname?