Mr. Noodle

Mr. Noodle
Mr. Noodle

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Go Date

I've been doing math this morning. Math to see how much income I'll have in the coming weeks, what needs to be paid, and what side of zero I'll end up on after all those pluses and minuses are done. I have determined that it will make sense for me to leave the hospital sooner rather than later. As it stands right now, my last day is July 22 but I would really like to leave sooner.

Not a digression:
Last night, Kat & Kirsten showed up for Friday Stitch Night right at 7:00. I wasn't ready, guests don't usually show up until after 7:30, so I had my iPod on, rubber gloves, washing dishes. Oh! Said I, I'll put on some tea. Two minutes later when Ellie and Erin showed up, I knew that they had all conspired to celebrate before I left. As Kirsten put it "We're not going to let you sneak off like Dan did". (How did they know I was planning to sneak off?) Faye arrived shortly thereafter and we had a wonderful and lively chat.

Why this isn't a digression: this was a send-off, you see. And when I say I had been thinking of sneaking off, I mean that I have been thinking about finding a way to go sooner and then just sort of slipping out of town, loose ends tied up. I have a short list of people I would contact about this, so these knitting gals that were here last night were really in no danger of me running off without saying goodbye, but it was a very sweet gesture and I absolutely appreciate it. But it meant something more to me: it means I have permission to go now. The people that have been really important to me in my life here were all there last night (well, there are two others but they are not knitters and I will say goodbye to them in a different context). When I have a final date at the hospital there will be cake, there will be a card (I've seen this process a few times now, I know what to expect). But yes, it's time for me to go, and I am (mentally) ready to go.

According to my figuring, if you were to tell me right now that I can cross the border, I would need a month to finish my job, clear out & clean up the house, do my last round of visiting in Victoria, my last round of visiting in Alberta, and then time to get to North Carolina. I want to be able to be there as soon as possible. There are finances involved and honestly, my income from my job barely supports my life here. After my bills are paid, there is nothing left - so what am I working for? My original plan was to leave here and wait on the south end of the island (Cowichan Bay or Victoria), but I had an idea this morning that it might make more sense for me to wait for my departure date from the farm in Alberta. I haven't seen my nephew in two years (nor my father, for that matter), and it would be so nice to actually spend some time with my family rather than just a couple of days on my way though.  There, when my permission to cross the border comes, I can do it within a day or two. If I cross the border because of a job, I can be in North Carolina in less that ten days rather than three weeks. It just makes more sense to me.

Not cast in stone but this is what is on my mind today.

No comments:

Post a Comment