At the Park – Days 110 – 116

Oct 9 – 15

Alrighty then!

Big news but little daily status so I will keep this brief.

I got a call Monday from work informing me that I cannot continue to work for my company from New Mexico or Arizona.  Needless to say this news really took the wind out of my sails.  Struggling to stay positive, I started evaluating alternatives and spent the week developing a “Plan B”.  During a follow up call on Friday I was informed that my new plan was also unacceptable.  I basically have two choices.  Move back to Michigan or find alternative employment.  Given my personal situation at this moment in time, I do not feel that finding alternative employment is a viable option for me.

With the mental acceptance that I would need to temporarily put on hold the execution of my plans to fulfill my dreams that have been years in the developing, I immediately started planning my return to Michigan Friday evening and started executing on that plan Saturday.

Saturday I spent moving the tractor to my neighbors Tom and Alicia with Tom’s permission and removing from the shed anything I didn’t want stolen or wanted to take back to Michigan with me.  I then relaxed and visited with Drew, a fellow guest at the park that I have befriended.

Sunday was more detail planning, doing a bit more at property that I wasn’t equipped to do Saturday, and storing my generator in Drew’s massive garage/workshop.  In the afternoon I lost my motivation to work, so I sat and watched the Arizona vs Tampa Bay football game with Rusty and Tim in the clubhouse followed by a bit of boxing.

This upcoming week is fully booked with working, saying my goodbyes to friends I’ve made down here, and preparing to leave.  I’ve scheduled vacation Thursday and Friday.  Plan is to spend the day Thursday packing up the truck and trailer, moving the trailer into storage, run to Douglas to get an oil change, and pick up whatever I need for the trip, and depart early Friday morning.  I’ve already booked a pet friendly hotel in Oklahoma for Friday night.  I expect to be home late Saturday evening.  Sunday will be recovering from the long drive and making the rounds to see family and making sure I’m ready for work Monday.  I will be staying at the W. Michigan house as we are supposed to close on the Augusta house this week.  Hope it is not Thursday or Friday…

As far as next steps, once I’m situated in Michigan again, I will talk with HR to find out the exact limitations that I am facing.  From there I will figure out if I can make that work or if I will need to start seeking new career opportunities next year.  Regardless, I have in my mind that I would like to come back down for the month of January or February and put up fencing and a gate and do what ever other smaller construction projects time permits.  The following trip, I’m thinking July 2018, I would then be able to install solar and move an RV onto the property.  Cheryl and Rachel would likely be moving down with me at that point and we will be putting the house on Michigan up for sale at that time.

I have a 3 year building permit and I’m losing 1 year with this delay.  I’m going to have to bust my butt do get it all done in the two remaining years.  I can extend it 1 year.  After that, I have to wait 5 years before I can apply for a similar permit.  Not an acceptable option to me, so get it done is Plan A thru Z.

My time in Michigan between now and July 2018 will be focused on preparing W. Michigan house for sale and making what ever employment arrangements necessary to meet those goals.  As always, plans are fluid and can change, but those are the plans I have in mind.

Regarding this blog, I expect to make a few more posts before I let it go dormant pending my next trip to the valley.  If you haven’t already, there is an option to follow this blog that appears as a small pop-up in the lower right corner of the screen.  By following the blog, you will get emails when I post updates rather than having to periodically check the blog.  I will also work to get some of the video I’ve taken posted to my youtube channel.

Thinking about it, as this blog is a record of my journey to reach my goals, and the time spent in Michigan is part of that journey, I will likely post periodic updates while in Michigan.  It will most likely be family centric and maybe progress on preparing the house to be sold, but I will certainly post about any activity of note in moving toward the goals and dates outlined above.

That’s it for me tonight.

Night all.