John's Next Step

I've been talking with family, friends, and fellow volunteers.  I'm well less than a month before departure.  This seems to be about the time that volunteering for the Peace Corps becomes “really real” – “crazy real” – “scary real”.  Scary for volunteers, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, other relatives, and close friends.  Now is the time when some families and friends put pressure on future volunteers to re-examine their commitment.  Now is the time for future volunteers to reexamine the significant commitment staring them in the face even if they have a very supportive family like mine. How can you leave now? Some younger volunteers are being asked “What about your great grandmother (grandfather, aunt, uncle, etc.)?”  They are being told that they’ll miss the first year in the life of a niece or nephew. Graduations and other life events.  The impact on their career and future earning potential might be explained or hammered home...

Relationships.  There is something human, spiritual, and beneficial about building and maintaining relationships.  Surely, it is a source of strength and happiness.  As I will soon be a quarter of the way around the globe I’m taking the opportunity to visit family one last time before departure.  I’ll be visiting my family in Arkansas later in the month and expect to write another post reflecting on family before I leave. I recently returned from visiting Theresa’s family in Michigan and Canada.  I drove up last Thursday and returned yesterday.  Ugh, more than a few hours in the car, but so worth it.  I wish I should have stayed longer and visited more people.  Still, it was a wonderful visit.  I want to express my gratitude for the gifts, particularly the gift of time, so generously given.  The trip also got me out of the house and away from the concern of things left to do. I was able to spend an afternoon with Theresa’s...

Things around the house I have a four bedroom house and four weeks left.  My daughter came in from Kansas City for the weekend to visit and to help organize the stuff in the house.  My oldest son and his wife also came by yesterday to help.  I’m glad I had some other people helping me figure this stuff out.  Several hours of: “Do you want this?”, “Ok to donate this?”, “Do you really want to throw that away?”, etc.  It is both hard to let go of stuff and liberating, mostly hard.  I’m right in the middle of the emotions, a messy house, and boxes – some partially packed, others empty.  Many people who are farther along report a satisfying and liberating feeling.  At this time my emotions are raw, memories brought back to the surface and worries about memories lost. I have so much to do in these last four weeks.  I need to visit friends and relatives.  I need to keep working on the house and the yard.  Grass still needs to be mow...

Saturday was the last day of the morning men’s discussion group at my Church.  The program is called “That Man is You” or TMIY.  In our parish we meet on Saturday mornings starting in the fall and ending in the spring.  We’ve been meeting for three years now.  The best part of the meeting is the table discussions.  My table, #2, is the best #1 table.  The guys got me a picture as a going away present.  Good-bye all, I’m going to miss the fellowship and the breakfasts!   This was the first week of my retirement and it has given my time to think about what needs to be done before I leave.  On Tuesday I had a happy hour that lasted about four hours.  I would like to thank my friends from Express Scripts, MasterCard, and from Church who stopped by to wish me well and to exchange good-byes and good luck.  It was a nice time and I wished I would have been able to talk more to everyone – thanks again. Selling or renting a hou...

Thanks so much to all my friends who came by Dave and Busters.  It was very nice seeing everyone, even if I was not able to talk to each of you as much as I would have liked. Much success everyone !!!!

Retirement ? Friday was my last day at work – so I’m officially retired for six weeks until I head off to Ghana. Yesterday the local Peace Corps staff put on a picnic for applicants, nominees, invitees, and RPCVs (Returned Peace Corps Volunteers).  The picnic was a great with about 30 people – mainly FPCVs (Future Peace Corps Volunteer in the stage of applicant, nominee, or invitee).  I forgot about taking pictures. Hmm, in the future I’ll try to remember stuff like that.  Anyway, I am taking my next steps to get myself ready for service during this six week “retirement”.  My time will be spent getting my house and myself ready and visiting my family and Theresa’s family.  I’m getting stuff collected for packing and I’ll provide the required “packing list post” in the near future hopefully before departure.  I’ll land in Ghana on June 4 th – about 45 days away.  Wow. Happy Easter Happy Easter to my family and friends – I miss yo...

Orchids are blooming My wife Theresa and I always liked orchids.  I've kept the plants for years and as long as I do not kill it (hint: don't over or under water it) the plant would bloom maybe a year later and typically around Easter. In her last year I wanted to make sure she always had flowers in the house so orchids were a perfect choice.  A live orchid may cost several times more than cut flowers, but the flowers last for a very long time.  I ended up with four plants that I've kept alive since 2012. The two plants with the first bloom.  Picture taken March 30th. April 12th, the flowers continue to open. I was happy to see that two plants would be blooming for Easter.  Orchids bloom in slow motion and I've been watching the flower stalks grow for over a month before I took this picture of the first flowers.  As I am learning to blog and need to figure out pictures I decided that this would be a good post to practice. Close up of...