I woke up this morning in a really good mood, which in itself is a huge feat of accomplishment because I am not a morning person....at all. Just ask my boyfriend or my children, they'll all tell you the same thing, "Don't mess with mom until she's been up for a little bit." or something along those lines. Anyway, I was in a good mood because I have a four day weekend coming up (Fourth of July is Monday and my command is giving us Friday off. Yay for sleeping in!!) and my boyfriend is coming home tomorrow night. Then it hit me as I was dropping my boys off for summer camp that today is June 30th. Normally not a big deal because this date holds no signficance for me. But this year it does because in exactly one year I will be forced to grow up and become the responsible, mature adult I've been pretending to be since I turned 18.
In other words, I'm retiring from the Navy and leaving behind the only 'real' job I've ever had since I joined in 1992. I had other jobs before I joined, I was a waitress on weekends in a little mom and pop diner in my hometown, I did an internship at the local Air Force recruiting office the summer between my junior and senior year of high school, and I was a bar tender as a second job while stationed in El Centro, CA. Not that those weren't real jobs, because they were, but now I'm venturing out into the unknown territory of actually putting together my resume, figuring out which agency or entity I want to work for, salary negotiations, figuring out how my current benefits I get will translate to an actual salary in the civilian world, (how does one even begin to answer that question???) buying a wardrobe (which is really scaring the crap out of me...I know who would've thought that dressing yourself could actually cause stress? Not me!) actually doing an interview, (the other interviews I did occured because I knew someone who worked there and had mentioned the owners needed help) making a good impression on people, (when I'm not really sure what exactly that means because I can only be myself and I am really horrible at talking myself up and selling myself. Guess I have to get over that issue as well) then there's the ultimate question we all get asked when we're little and naive....What do you want to be when you grow up?
I have thought of a hundred different answers some silly (a princess would be waaay cool because then you're not really working and you can do whatever you want without causing too much trouble. I've thought about becoming a ninja; because face it ninjas are very cool (so much more so than pirates as I keep trying to tell my bf ;) a superhero would be good too, because you get some pretty awesome powers if you choose wisely. But, alas none of those are actual jobs; so it's back to looking at, "serious-grown-up jobs" that are more acceptable. Which leads to the questions of; who's hiring right now, who's going to be the better employer and the most important: how does all of my training correlate into an actual good paying (cause yes it is ALL about the money when you have kids to support) job that will be fun and exciting and hold my attention for more than five minutes. (I have SSS, AKA Shiny Squirrel Syndrome) Oh and did I mention...little to no travel because I've done that enough to last a lifetime.
So the next 365 days are going to go by quick! Well, most of them will...some days will be never-ending I'm sure but I've got more than enough on my plate to keep me busy and out of trouble (I hope). But as much as I'm ready to start this journey of the next chapter of this saga I call My Life, I'm going to begin by it by doing something that has been engrained in me since I was born (Thank you Gramps!!!)....I'm going to procrastinate starting or thinking about anything until Tuesday July 5th....Happy Independance Day!!!
