Caterwauling

I was just catching up on the metric buttload of blog entries I haven’t read in Bloglines, when this wonderful post by the amazing Amalah took me back to Rockville, Md., for one last spin around the block.

She was the reason I got my awesome job back in Rockville. Actually, she declared me overqualified for her open position, and forwarded my resume to the team that would embrace me with open arms and give me not just a job but an actual career, sense of purpose and, quite honestly, a solid-gold reputation that gets my foot into every door and gets me hired, sight unseen. (Although I think my charm and smarts have something to do with the offers I get. A little bit, anyway!)

Even more magically, the person she did hire to work with her is one of my best friends in the world. And did I mention that the gal she hired just moved down the street from me here in Florida?

It’s funny how the world works. Amazing how a chance meeting ON THE DAY I QUIT my job at the Veggie Patch turned into a job five months later … a career five YEARS later .. and not only gave me a lovely set of colleagues but also a FAMILY with whom I will be in touch (and, frankly, a little bit in love) forever?

When I was leaving Rockville on March 24 of last year, I was sick and sad and questioning every decision I was making. And when I got here and truly tried to be happy, everyone told me I wasn’t and that I should go back. The power of suggestion was, well, powerful. But it’s my family back there who made sure that I felt strong and loved enough to continue making the best life possible for myself.

I’d probably still be there today if I hadn’t made the impulse decision to load the cats into the car and drive 1,000 miles south. Or maybe I’d be somewhere else and heading this way soon enough. In any case, for all the doubts and stress and turmoil I’ve endured during the last 12 months, I’m finally seeing through clear eyes the person I was intended to be.

And I’m damn pleased to meet her.

While home may be where the heart is, you can have pieces of your heart all over the globe. And as I contemplate my next steps, Amy’s entry really reminded me of where I came from, of the people who have loved and supported and helped me to become the person and success that I am, and how those offices on Key West are the reason why I’m a three-hour drive from the REAL Key West.

I’m not running away anymore. Now it’s just a matter of choosing what I’m running toward … and knowing that, far from leaving anyone or anything behind, that I’m taking them with me wherever I go.

So, Amy, thank you for everything. And I do mean everything. …

“At night I drink myself to sleep and pretend
I don’t care that you’re not here with me
‘Cause it’s so much easier to handle
All my problems if I’m too far out to sea.”

— REM, “Don’t Go Back to Rockville”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 10:27 AM and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.