I heard it rained in Texas

A friend sent me a note that it rained in Texas. So glad. I’m in Abu Dhabi where it never rains and, of course, that means there is very little to burn. The wildfire activity/risk in Texas will now die down. Whew, made it through another season. Made it through most of another trip with little worry.

And a trip it has been. Management changes causing an uproar and managers stumbling over one another in a quest to move up in rank and favor. Me, I’m a contractor so I get to sit back and see if my contract is picked up. So my thought for today was whether I am changed by the experience of dealing with emergent care, subsequent care-giving or whether I have always been too much of a maverick for corporate life.

Since I have picked up the responsibilities for our household income I have had to change my operating mode. I am a little more beholden to the paycheck than I was when we both worked. I could take risk that I can no longer afford. Annie, on the other hand, was a corporate dynamo. She reveled in the meetings, the interaction and the competition. It is her greatest frustration that she is no longer in the game. Change and dealing with change has been a bumpy experience.

But is it because change is forced upon us that we look at things differently? Aside from the terrible “change trigger” I would not want to have had the last five years be any different. Well, maybe a little. Maybe given the choice I would have resisted change. I’d have missed a lot of incredible experiences – delving into art, going to Burning Man, the unbreakable bond in my family that was always there but came to the surface and remained, and the new friendships we have formed. These experiences are so more valuable than accumulated wealth. And yes, they leave me changed.

As I am awaiting instructions at a luxury hotel in Abu Dhabi, I have a few minutes to reflect. What are the positive points and how to grow them. What are the negative and how to discard quickly anything that blocks my path. I am in doubt that my contract will be picked up by this company. Too many cooks right now to make soup. There are lots of other companies. But the positives of the experience in the Middle East and the opportunity to come back here and work have me on a quest. I might not have thought that way 5 years ago.