When I Grow Up..

So...big changes going on in my life.  After many years of searching and struggling, I think I have decided what I want to be when I grow up.

Okay, I'm being flip.  But I'm also quite serious.  I have been searching for a "career" or a "calling",if you will, since...well...since forever.  I've been a mom for thirteen years now, and while that has definitely been the most important thing I've done, it has never felt like a calling to me; like my main purpose.  I've always felt like I had more to offer. 

For decades I've planned on being a writer.  And I have written.  I've even been published several times.  But I had put myself in the framework of having to be a novelist.  Novels were something I've always enjoyed reading, and I like to write, and I'm good at it, so I'm supposed to be a novelist, right? 

Maybe not.

I've been "working on a novel" for nearly a quarter of a century now.  I've often made excuses of not having enough time, or needing to take more classes, or whatever.  But I have had plenty of time, and the novel hasn't happened.  Meanwhile, I've been a) beating myself up for not doing it and b)feeling more and more unhappy and unfullfilled.  (Is that how you spell that word?  That looks wrong.)

I strongly considered the ministry, but then decided that didn't quite feel right.  I've spent a lot of time looking into other spiritual things as well, like Buddhism and Martial Arts.  In between, I'd go to spas and health clubs to get massages as often as I could to relieve my stress and tension.

Wait for it...this is where it all comes together:

My Tae Kwon Do instructor told me several months ago that she had started going to massage school.  I was intrigued, as I've always been interested in the topic.  "There's an introductory class you can take" she told me.

Let's cut to the chase:  I'm taking the class on Nov 6th.  And I plan on enrolling in the school this coming January.

I'm going to be a masseuse. 

For someone who doesn't know me that well this might seem like a comically random thing.  But for all the folks who do know me, they've said "That's terrific!"

Though I think a lot of that might have to do with the prospect of free massages. 

Here's a link to the school I'll be attending:  The Brian Utting School of Massage

I'll also be taking the Intro to Anatomy class from Nov-Dec.  It's a good "jump-start" on the extensive anatomy one needs to learn for this profession.  I can't wait.  I'm very excited.  Wish me luck.

-Leslie