Honeymoonin'

Exactly two weeks ago was my first day of orientation for my debut travel nursing assignment. The verdict so far?

Loving it!

The more pragmatic part of me feels maybe it’s too early (and unlucky?!) to proclaim joy and success. Perhaps I am in the “honeymoon phase.” That place of seemed perfection in relationships in which the other can do no wrong, you can’t get enough of each other, and you didn’t know how blissful life could be until they came along.

But I have a sneaking suspicion that this happiness isn’t a phase, but a permanently improved quality of life. The instinctual part of me knows that this new lifestyle feels right. So, I’m going to roll with it. I’ve learned over the last nine months to listen to my gut. Doing so has led me away from my conventional life that felt constricting and predictable, and towards this new adventure. Towards freedom.

I know not every day of traveling will be boast-worthy. There will be moments in which I wonder why I’ve moved myself so far away from my loved ones, or shifts at work where I’m tired of being “the traveler.” But I’ve been leaving work with a smile on my face and a sense of accomplishment every day, despite being a newbie and having already floated to another unit twice. I miss seeing my loved ones frequently, but this is tempered by the excitement and anticipation leading up to a trip home.

If at the end of this assignment the majesty of the honeymoon has indeed worn off and I decide traveling isn’t for me, I don’t have to do it anymore. The good thing about a conventional life is that it doesn’t go anywhere. I can at any point return to a traditional job, buy a house and settle down in a familiar suburb just because it's what I "should" be doing, and take a short vacation once or twice a year. I can slide right back into a “normal,” safe life. It will always be an option.

Or.

Or I can continue my commitment to this adventure despite the potential for bad days. I can use it as an opportunity to learn, explore, and construct my own definition of life.  

I choose the latter.... and I'm going to prematurely proclaim joy and success. If I fail miserably, you can say “I told you so.”

But I wouldn’t hold your breath ;)