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...