A time for growth.

At the the beginning of the year I meant to post about some of my goals for 2012. Somehow, life took an odd spin and I never did that post. It doesn't matter, I've had a few things written on paper and at the top of that list, in the number one spot was "get a new job." Yay! I did that in June. I had been at my old job for 10 years and it just wasn't working. Well, it hadn't been working for me for, um, 9 years and 6 months, but at first I stayed because I thought it might get better, then I stayed because the economy tanked, then I stayed because I had been there long enough to know how to get by. See, that statement right there, "get by," has been plaguing me to the point that I finally had to put it down on paper and move on. Then I told some friends and family I was going to leave so I was kind of committed. I mean, people know me as someone who does what I say I'm going to do, maybe not quite in the timeline I say, but I do it. Honestly, I told people about it as a motivator to me as well. So, get a new job? Check

Another item on my list is to start backpacking. I camp, I hike, I kayak, so the logical next step was to backpack. Well, I planned a trip for a long weekend in August to take Sir S on the North Country Trail with a loop back to the trailhead on the Manistee River Trail. This was to be a first for both of us. We're still doing that, but I just ran across a hiking and backpacking group and they're going out this weekend, so guess who's going along??? Yep, I couldn't wait so I'm heading out. It's probably a good idea to go out with some experienced backpackers before I take the grandson out into the wild. Not that I was worried because I'm super comfortable out-of-doors, and the NCT is quite a busy trail this time of year, but this gives me a chance to feel how it goes and make adjustments before taking the little one. The reason for starting backpacking? I have a backpacking trip to Peru on my radar and being alone in a foreign country probably isn't the time to learn what I should and shouldn't do. So, as of my return on Sunday, backpacking? Check!

Life is good!