Say whaaaat??? Yep, I put in my two weeks' notice on Friday, and after my lovely two-week vacation with my husband (whom I haven't seen in 7 months!), I will come back to a different sort of life, a refreshing change.
To be honest, I'm a little anxious. It will be painful to leave Appletree, where I have invested in the lives of children I've come to love, and where I have cultivated friendships with the amazing ladies with whom I've had the opportunity to work. However, my decision to leave is one into which I've put a lot of thought, and I believe this is the best choice for me right now. I have a handful of ideas I want to pursue once I come back from vacation, when my immediate future is free from the restriction of a daily job, and when I will be in desperate need of new and exciting things to distract me from the throbbing loneliness of being torn away from the love of my life yet again. But that is where the different scenery comes in . . .
I've had an unordinary life. But, haven't we all? I was homeschooled from 5th grade - 12th grade, and graduated high school with an acceptance letter to Michigan State University in hand. I was accepted into the Honors College, and finished my first semester with a 4.0. (So just try to make an argument that homeschooling is less ideal than any other school! ;) ) During that first semester, I fell in love with a soldier who was stationed overseas; and, during Christmas break, he asked me to marry him. We wanted to get married before he deployed in the summer, so we set the date for June 25, 2011. With the stress of full-time school, part-time work, and planning a wedding, I decided to withdraw during my second semester at State. I transferred to the Appletree in Wyoming, MI, and moved back in with my parents. Summer came, and my soldier came with it. We were blessed to be supported by so many friends and family on our wedding day (some drove or flew across the country to be there for us), and we spent a glorious six weeks together -- two weeks in Michigan, four weeks in Germany -- before we said goodbye, not knowing when we would be with each other again. Fast-forward seven months, and here we are. As you can imagine, I feel like the past year has been quite a whirlwind for me. Exactly one year ago, I made the decision to withdraw from State, drastically changing the course of my life. I was originally pursuing a degree in Communication, with a specialization in Public Relations. Did I enjoy it? Sure. But I
Because the thing is, I think I'm at a time in my life where I don't have to be so concerned about where my life is headed. Jonathan and I have talked about and agreed on such things as when we'd like to start having children, where we want to settle down, and long-term career/school goals; however, I can't really initiate those plans without my life partner by my side. And until he comes back home from fighting the bad guys, I wait. But who says waiting has to be boring and uneventful? I have an incredible chance to take a different path, immerse myself in new scenery, experience new things, fall in love with a new hobby, get lost in the vibrancy of life.
For one can enjoy a pond by treading water, but will only get to explore the ocean if he chooses to swim.
