Reflections on the Decision I've Made

“There are two things that prevent us from achieving our dreams: believing them to be impossible, or seeing those dreams made possible by some sudden turn of the wheel of fortune, when you least expect it. For at that moment, all of our fears suddenly surface: the fear of setting off along a road heading who knows where, the fear of life full of new challenges, the fear of losing forever everything that is familiar.”
The Devil and Miss Prym by Paulo Coelho

I read those words over and over on my last flight from Miami to Pittsburgh, my last day as a Ketchum employee. How could words ever ring more true for what Ed and I were about to do as full time Rver's? I could stay on as a Senior Consultant with Ketchum working for a fund raising consulting firm that at one time was a dream that turned into a seven-year reality. I had believed a career with Ketchum to be impossible for a while, but a supportive husband, grown children, and years of development experience came together as my “wheels of fortune” to make that dream real.

To ignore the new “wheels of fortune” – selling our Texas home, finding a willing buyer for our MCI motor coach when a new Prevost coach came available, Suzie off to college, and the successful conclusion of several client campaigns with Ketchum – would be folly. As in Coelho’s book, the character Miss Prym struggled with the choice that could change her fate, I pondered my actions too. Yes, there are fears…Can we successfully live in a house on wheels anywhere the road takes us? …and challenges…Will we be safe in on the road and in other countries with the coach? … and loss of the familiar…What will we find around each bend of the road? I had already decided that it would be cowardly to not follow the opportunity before me.

In this same novel, a character would say, “Whenever you want to achieve something, keep your eyes open, concentrate and make sure you know exactly what it is you want. No one can hit the target with their eyes closed.”

With my eyes open, my resignation from Ketchum became effective when the Delta flight touched ground on Friday, September 7, 2007 at 7:50 PM.