AUGUST 2020: I'm Not Ready to Leave - I Just Can't Stay

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Some sort of schooling will begin soon and yet another YouTUBE video popped up about a couple’s journey crossing their wake. Just like that, the Loop drifted onto my charts.


Once school started, and a few more videos popped up, I had several serious conversations with myself:

If I decided to begin the Loop, would I be doing it for the love of the adventure or as an escape from this what-the-devil-is-a-jamboard style teaching?

Turns out that I really like online teaching, it’s fun and completely transparent. Parent involvement is 100% and there is NO WAY they can NOT see their student’s struggles with problem solving or academic behavior. As for the student’s, their questions were deep and meaningful - I loved the relationship. Leaving teaching for a year would not be an escape. I was doing this for a totally different reason: for Jim. He has done so much for me and all he has ever wanted was this Loopy thing. 

If I took a leave of absence, what would happen to my health insurance? Should I retire?

The women who really run SCPS are Mrs.M from HR and Mrs.C from benefits because those are the people who can answer your questions plus answer the questions you didn’t know to ask. I had several long and tearful conversations with both of them. I’m not ready to leave - I just can’t stay. Making the decision to retire or request a leave of absence is a LOT different than making a decision on how to pour a docktail - this just got real!

I calmed down, looked at my tear-stained notes, brainstormed the possibilities with Jim and said nothing more. I need to think. 

One afternoon, I walked upstairs to the Global Headquarters of Beck Engineering and calmly announced that I was leaving in June 2021 to complete the Great Loop and asked Jim if he would like to take command of LegaSea. He replied, “Sure.” Then, I swear this man! He dropped what he was doing, pulled out some stack of papers, and the planning took shape. There was no backing out now.

I’m like that sometimes, I can make a life changing decision and move forward - it just takes some thinkin’.


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