Pennsylvania, Paratroopers, and Positivity
I shared this illustration with a friend:
A paratrooper spends weeks, months even, preparing for a specific operation. He trains, he collects supplies, getting lost in the whirlwind of preparation. Finally, the day comes. He jumps out of the plane, touches down on the ground, and looks around him. He suddenly realizes that he has no idea what his mission is, what to do next, and if he has even prepared properly.
Can you imagine what he might be feeling? I can.
Only a few weeks ago, Judah received a job offer that required us to move from Rhode Island to Pennsylvania. We said goodbye to our jobs and to our friends. We busily packed up everything we owned into boxes, and crammed them into a trailer to be stored until further notice. We found a place to stay temporarily. And then on Monday morning, after a last-minute breakfast with a friend, we got in our cars and started the trek down to PA. Yes, Monday. The storm of the century (yes, I hear you New Jerseyans snorting at that) couldn’t stop us, although it did slow us down quite a bit. The nine and a half hour drive was filled with so many emotions: anxiety, sadness, excitement, to name a few. Luckily I had P.G. Wodehouse to keep me company.
We arrived on Monday night, ate dinner, and went to bed, exhausted. And on Tuesday morning, Judah was up and off to start his new job. And I did…. nothing….
(This is the part where you connect my feelings with my paratrooper illustration.)
I tried to unpack and get settled, which didn’t work out too well. I tried to hunt for apartments. That also didn’t work out too well. I sat on the couch and wasted time on Pinterest. That worked out pretty well. I just felt really lost, and I didn’t know what to do with myself. I even visited my sister-in-law and my darling nephew and niece. And although I enjoyed my time with them immensely, as soon as I got home, I felt lost and unmotivated again.
Now let’s be honest. I still feel pretty lost. All I want to do is sit on the couch and watch Miyazaki films and Doctor Who. But I’m not letting myself. I feel better than I did yesterday, and it was the strangest thing that helped me get out of my slump: I went grocery shopping. For some reason, doing such a mundane task at a familiar place (the grocery store I went to all the time in college) gave me an odd sense of satisfaction. Being in a place where the food was cheaper and the cashiers were friendlier made me feel pretty good, as silly as it sounds. It also made it finally sink in that I am indeed a Pennsylvania resident. It’s always comforting to be assured of where one lives….
Anyway, I still don’t know what to do with my life, but that’s ok. I no longer feel a sense of panic bubbling to the surface in my mind. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow… =)
A paratrooper spends weeks, months even, preparing for a specific operation. He trains, he collects supplies, getting lost in the whirlwind of preparation. Finally, the day comes. He jumps out of the plane, touches down on the ground, and looks around him. He suddenly realizes that he has no idea what his mission is, what to do next, and if he has even prepared properly.
Can you imagine what he might be feeling? I can.
Only a few weeks ago, Judah received a job offer that required us to move from Rhode Island to Pennsylvania. We said goodbye to our jobs and to our friends. We busily packed up everything we owned into boxes, and crammed them into a trailer to be stored until further notice. We found a place to stay temporarily. And then on Monday morning, after a last-minute breakfast with a friend, we got in our cars and started the trek down to PA. Yes, Monday. The storm of the century (yes, I hear you New Jerseyans snorting at that) couldn’t stop us, although it did slow us down quite a bit. The nine and a half hour drive was filled with so many emotions: anxiety, sadness, excitement, to name a few. Luckily I had P.G. Wodehouse to keep me company.
We arrived on Monday night, ate dinner, and went to bed, exhausted. And on Tuesday morning, Judah was up and off to start his new job. And I did…. nothing….
(This is the part where you connect my feelings with my paratrooper illustration.)
I tried to unpack and get settled, which didn’t work out too well. I tried to hunt for apartments. That also didn’t work out too well. I sat on the couch and wasted time on Pinterest. That worked out pretty well. I just felt really lost, and I didn’t know what to do with myself. I even visited my sister-in-law and my darling nephew and niece. And although I enjoyed my time with them immensely, as soon as I got home, I felt lost and unmotivated again.
Now let’s be honest. I still feel pretty lost. All I want to do is sit on the couch and watch Miyazaki films and Doctor Who. But I’m not letting myself. I feel better than I did yesterday, and it was the strangest thing that helped me get out of my slump: I went grocery shopping. For some reason, doing such a mundane task at a familiar place (the grocery store I went to all the time in college) gave me an odd sense of satisfaction. Being in a place where the food was cheaper and the cashiers were friendlier made me feel pretty good, as silly as it sounds. It also made it finally sink in that I am indeed a Pennsylvania resident. It’s always comforting to be assured of where one lives….
Anyway, I still don’t know what to do with my life, but that’s ok. I no longer feel a sense of panic bubbling to the surface in my mind. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow… =)
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