Boarding the plane at Washington National I was still relishing the weekend I'd just spent with my oldest daughter and her husband and kids down in North Carolina. That visit was prompted by a job offer in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emerites that would have me leaving the country within a couple of weeks. The offer was very sweet. Not only were the pay and benefits excellent, my bride would be able to join me at the end of the current school year - for as long as we wanted to stay in the Middle East.
My flight took me through Milwaukee and as I left the airplane I reflexively reached for my cell phone to check email. There was an email from the company I was going to work for and I figured it would provide flight details. I opened the email and much to my surprise found that it informed me that the customer had canceled the job and the offer was retracted. Jeez!
Since I was on my way out to Phoenix to see my mom and sister and the tickets were already paid for, I chose to continue on. After sending my wife a copy of the email to let her know the latest status I boarded the flight and arrived in Phoenix without incident. Spent an wonderful week with mom. She had recently moved to a retirement community and it was absolutely stunning. The staff were well trained, friendly and helpful and mom had decorated her one bedroom efficiency tastefully, quite a restful space. We had a great two day visit and I got to see my sister and her husband as well.
Then I hopped a flight to El Paso to attend my youngest daughter's change of command ceremony. A Captain in the Army, Rachell was taking command of a Military Intelligence Company in the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Armored Division. Most definitely a red letter day in her career and I was thrilled to be there. As I watched the rehearsals memories of my days as a rifle company commander flooded back. Rachell and I had a great time talking about the challenges she would face and she was very patient with my enthusiasm.
I met David, her boyfriend while I was there, and as expected, David asked for Rachell's hand in marriage. After a heart-to-heart talk I told David I was sorry but I couldn't give him my permission because it was not mine to give. I savored the stunned look and then explained very carefully that Eva and I had talked this possibility over before I'd left and we had agreed to provide our permission. We wanted David to understand very clearly that marriage in our family was a two person affair. The relief that flooded his face was almost palpable. Later on I let Rachell know about our conversation and she was as happy as David to have that behind them!
After two days in El Paso I strapped another aircraft to my posterior and flew off to a connecting flight in Houston. When I landed there, same drill, pull out the cell phone and check emails. Hmmm, that's interesting, a note from one of the companies that included me in a proposal a while back. Congratulations, you have a job!
So I left Virginia with a job in Abu Dhabi and returned home with a job not ten minutes from my house. Ain't life grand?!
But the story doesn't end here...while I am thrilled to have a job, I started the process of redefining myself during the layoff by asking myself what I would do if there were no constraints. The answer surprised and intrigued me enough that I am well into a rebranding and marketing campaign to pursue that dream. We'll see...no telling how long or how successful that effort will be. At least now I'm contributing again.
In the next few posts I'll give you an idea of where I'm headed.
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