Honey, I'm Home

After a journey that has taken me too far away, I find myself standing at the door with my hand on the knob. The creation of this blog is me turning the handle and opening the door ... inside there is a cool shower waiting for me and a new set of clothes to put on. Then I will be ready to head back out into the world ... dressed up and ready to tackle a new beginning.

At this point I don't know what I'll be wearing or what I'll look like when I come outside again but I know that I need to make this change. I need to make this change for myself and for those that I hold dear to me. The genesis of this idea started shortly after another birthday and spending too much time realizing that I have accomplished little for myself up until this point.

Maybe some or even all ... no I want to be clear on this point ... I am the only person to blame for my current lot in life. I came from a supportive background and was blessed with the intelligence to do well in school. The grades I got were exactly the grades I wanted ... A's in Math and English, just average scores in the rest of my courses.

I have been given opportunities and for one reason or another have not fully taken advantage of them. Through my own hard work and determination I was able to walk into a radio station and start work as an operator with one shift per week. That soon changed to weekend announcer and the advancements and promotions started rolling from there. When my 15 year tour of duty finished I had gone from part time radio to full time television and finished with the title of Master Control Supervisor.

The job was a lucrative one that allowed me opportunities to give back to the community that I have called home for my entire life. I started volunteering as a public address announcer with a local hockey team and, like I did in the broadcast industry, found myself taking on more and more tasks and responsibilities. At the time of this particular posting, I have the title of Communications Director and am considered the voice of this particular hockey team.

The game of hockey is one that is seasonal in nature, at least to those that look at the sport as being played during particular months of the year. The reality of the situation is that hockey is a year round sport with many activities happening that are not limited by the date on the calendar. From recruiting to maintaining relationships with players, volunteers, fans and the business community, hockey is dependent on the efforts of many people every day of the year.

So what does all this have to do with the reinvention of me? Well I find myself with no income after being laid off from the hockey team due to a "shortage of work" as a result of the hockey operations being seasonal. Over the course of seventeen seasons, fifteen of which were strictly volunteer in nature, I find myself trying to sort out what should and what shouldn't be.

There is a lot more information that I need to mull over and provide here before I can fully assess the situation and begin the tough process of reinvention. I see it as a process of changing clothes. So far all I've done is walk in the door and take my shoes off. There is a lot more clothes to come off and then I will need to have a shower and cleanse myself before I can put on a new outfit. At some point in all of this, I hope to select what I am going to wear for my future and have it ready to put on when I step out of the shower.

If you wish to follow on my journey, I invite you do so and encourage you to add your thoughts and opinions along the way ... you just never know when or where you will find that nugget, that diamond in the rough.