Day One.
Actually it’s day 3 or day 5 if you count the weekend.
Either way, it’s early on in my experience. The freaky experience of not having to wake up early, of not having to drive in to work, of not having my mind swirling about the upcoming business trip or client presentation, of not needing to call a vendor or build a Powerpoint. Even the simple task of not having to drive in to work—a trip I have taken everyday for the last 18 years. That 45 minute drive from the suburbs into town, again, with my mind swirling with the day’s upcoming activities. It is surreal in it’s apparent finality.
The house is quiet except for the tapping of my fingers on the keyboard and the distant sound of wind sweeping through the trees outside. What now? Tom Cruise’s scene in risky business comes to mind but, tempted as I may be, there are things I need to do. My mind swirls with excitement, fright, hope, despair, opportunity, insecurity and confidence all ebbing and flowing, up and down, inand out. It’s a scary time but an exciting one.
I have so much to do--build my resume, prepare my website, update my social media sites, reach out to friends and colleagues. But it’s hard to focus on which one to do first, to decide which is most important because, well, it’s all important. I guess I’ll take my own advice: Leaves in a pool. I learned that years ago from cleaning our swimming pool. Usually after a windstorm the pool would be filled with thousands of leaves. There would be so many that you could hardly see the bottom. Regardless of the challenge or my laziness, it had to be done. I would just start with one basketful and then another, and another. All the while I’d be thinking of my golf swing or maybe some photos I wanted to process or a stupid song that would get stuck in my head. Before too long I could see real progress. Little by little I would make a dent and before you now it, the pool was clean. I often give that advice to people when they are overwhelmed. “Leaves in a pool my friend, leaves in a pool.” Yes, I will take my own advice and start scooping out leaves. I’ll let you know when I can see the bottom of the pool again.
RBTO