Links we mentioned in the Vlog:
It was a rainy day today. I met a friend around brunch time and we had a really nice visit. We discussed the overuse syndrome in my hand/wrist/arm and she suggested to me that I try to get a job at her school as a paraeducator. She has suggested this to me in the past and I have always stayed with my 'comfortable' present job. Sometimes it is easier to stay with what one knows rather than to deal with the fears and anxiety that can be involved in changing paths. I feel like a fickle teenager who can't decide what they want to do when they grow up. Instead I am a fickle 52 year old who can't figure it out. Will becoming a paraeducator get in the way of my hiking the AT? Yes. It will become less possible to do in one stretch that could take up to 6 months. It would be very feasible to do it in two or more chunks when considering that I could have my summers off. I could use long weekends and breaks to do more local parts of the trail. I am not sure how to explain that this is a different experience and not necessarily the one I am looking for. Doing the trail in pieces, the term for that is a section hiker or someone who flip flops, is like training to me. The experience of taking 6 months to test myself is a huge part of it. I am not a young person who has an entire lifetime ahead to do this. All this said and out there... having a career path and thus doing the trail in 2 parts over 2 summer breaks is still a huge challenge. There is nothing that says that I will only do this once. And I may not even get the job!!
Although I am not a young person, I still have the rest of my life to look forward to. There are so many things that can happen in a little amount of time and my entire life can turn on a dime. It has and does quite often. Different things present themselves and changes occur.
Getting out with a friend is my happy for today. That and getting to Vlog with Gideon again.
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