Phase 3: Beginning...again.

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It has taken me 60+ years to finally figure out how important beginnings are to my peace of mind. I like beginnings; in fact, I kinda thrive on them. The converse is also true: I detest the mundane; I kinda suffocate when things become predictable. One would think I'd have caught on to this pattern long ago.....say, oh, after my second divorce, or my fifth job change, or my fourth "new hobby". One would think I'd have clued into how this "I love beginnings" pattern has kept repeating itself in every relationship--marital, parental, familial, platonic, work, human, non-human. But, no. There was a third divorce, and, after that, two more attempts at a long term relationship before I embraced the reality that marriage and I were not meant to be together. It also explains why the only job I have been able to maintain for more than five years was the twenty years I spent writing and editing as a freelance science writer. As a freelance writer, every project is new and different, with different objectives, different managers, different deadlines, different timelines. Each project lasts a few weeks to a few months. Then it's done, kaput, over. Within usually a few weeks to a month, new project appears in my inbox, and it all starts again.

But here I am, retired from writing/editing, working my last week as tour guide/bus driver at the zoo, a few weeks away from receiving my first social security benefits check, and about to start again, in a new country, meeting new people, working in a new environment, and speaking a new language. Date of departure--January 1, 2020. Destination--Toucan Rescue Ranch, Costa Rica. Work--rescue, rehab, and release of orphaned, abandoned, and injured animals.

A beginning like this requires planning and organization--skills I pride myself on. And so........today marks the day of the first pack.

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