Back to the epic tale of Tracy.

There are times in my life when I have KNOWN without the shadow of a doubt that God is working and I am merely following His lead. I recognize it (not always right away—-which would be soooooo much easier) when my life seems to take an unexpected turn and wild ideas pop into my head WITH SOLUTIONS to the unexpected turns. My/our current job change is one of those times. And it is still in progress, so it is absolutely terrifying and fascinating to experience.

Once I recognized that my job wasn’t mine to keep and that we were being called to New England (it appears—remember, this is still in progress, we aren’t there yet!) I remembered that a former co-worker/friend and his wife had traveled years ago as X-ray techs and that seemed to be an interesting idea to pursue as well as a great way to figure out where we want to live and work—a kind of “try before we buy”. I talked with my friend who gave me good insight on travel life and I found a couple of helpful Facebook groups which had a ton of information and with that combination of guidance and direction everything snowballed very quickly. Much faster than the original thought of “two years from now”.

After narrowing down travel companies and figuring out a start date for a my first travel assignment (with a very generous resignation timeframe from my job), I resigned from my position and vaulted into the travel world. I was able to stay on PRN with my company since I have quite a wide range of abilities within the company, so it worked out well for them and I keep a foot in the door and pick up extra shifts when convenient. Win-win.

Ironically enough, since I had been out of clinical for the last 3 years and had no travel experience, I was not the hot commodity I thought I should be. Apparently 30 years of experience means nothing. Enter humble pie. Somehow though, I ended up with an interview and offer for a job 2 hours away with the hospital I worked at straight out of X-ray school—-it seems they would be my “first” again. Side note: Conveniently, this job is located in the same town our youngest son attends college. Bonus!!

The next step was to find housing since it’s not practical to make a 4 hour commute daily. After reviewing a few options of a “room for rent in a house”, I was able to find a studio apartment for a reasonable rate and super convenient location. It provides exactly what I need: bed, shower, coffee pot and a mostly quiet neighborhood and most importantly—-NOT in someone’s house. I sleep “ok”—not great, not horrible, but it’s fine. As soon as I finish my last shift each week, I drive home. It usually takes me a couple of hours to wind down after each shift, so it’s nice to do that in the car and be back in my own bed that night.

The actual job is busy. No surprise. It is a fast-paced 12 hours, but the ER team is great to work with and time flies. 13 weeks will be up before I know it. In fact, I am already at the point where I am reviewing positions for my next assignment which is wild to me!

The downside of the job is the shifts are on the weekend. The upside is I am home all week. My weekdays are finding a new rhythm and this new freedom has provided an enormous blessing…..to be continued