Cut Me to the Corps

  So far November  has been a month of huge accomplishments for me.  First off, last week I did not use all of my Weight Watchers' points.  I think I had like 3 left.  Yes,  it's true I tend to round down, and I still disagree with some of the numbers.  How can a tablespoon of half and half in my coffee be three points? COME ON.  Also,  I voted. Huge.   Finally, for the first time ever, I used that long skinny arm attachment thing on my vacuum and ventured to the underworld beneath my bed.  I will spare you the details of that experience, but suffice it to say, there was enough dog hair under there to make me wonder if at some point I had two dogs and just forgot about one.

The point is, I was feeling pretty good about myself.  And then, I received the following email:

"I hope you are all doing well, and planning some fun for the holiday season ahead. 

I'm loving my new three-month Peace Corps Response assignment in Bitola, Macedonia, which is where I lived and worked as a Peace Corps Volunteer from 2006-2009. Life is simpler here, the people are warm and so generous, the food is always fresh and delicious, and the wine flows freely!

My work as a promotional specialist for the Center for Development of the Pelagonia Regionfocuses on a project related to the renovation of the small, but growing Bitola Zoo, and is challenging and very interesting - lots of fun, flow and fulfillment here! I will be doing a bit of staff development and creating an action plan for building sustainable partnerships and donor programs. I will keep you posted on what’s happening in the months ahead -- I will be here until late January 2013.  

This is my third Peace Corps assignment, my second was in Tbilisi, Georgia at the Ministry of Environment at this same time last year. (You never know where creating the life you really want may lead you - Wishful Thinking Works!)"

Um...what?   Where is Bitola? Isn't it a weight loss candy?  Am I too old to join the Peace Corps?  I want fun and fulfillment and free wine too.  I love food that is fresh and delicious!  BTW, who is this person?

Then I remembered.  Back in the early throes of divorce I was reaching for any port in the storm.  This involved me joining a lot of meet-up groups:  Women of Divorce, Women Who Work, Women Who Don't Work, Women Who Will Totally Freak if They Have to Work, Women Who are Single and Hate Their Ex's For Making Them Single When They Were Just About to Order Their Outdoor Kitchen...you get the point.  Apparently I joined a Wishful Thinking Works group, and now this woman has enough time on her hands while renovating a Bitolan Zoo, to go back through four years of emails and hit us all up.  Plus, I'm not sure about the whole wishful thinking thing, I have a white 1999 Kenmore refrigerator that I really WISH was a stainless SubZero, so...

Even if I wished to go, I cannot just take off for Macedonia at a drop of the hat.  First of all, there is my job at the spa where I have finally perfected the art of folding the fitted sheet.  Also, I have to have a slice of Ezekiel bread every day to keep my IBS (self diagnosed) under control and I do not know if that is available in Bitola.   I also have to have a microwave available to heat up my menopausal headache pillow.  The simple life of Macedonia sounds awesome,  just not doable for me right now.

 Then I started thinking, maybe I am misunderstanding the concept of wishful thinking.  Maybe it is more than crossing your arms, nodding your head and making Major Nelson appear in your bed.  What if I try envisioning the life I want to lead and then take steps to make that life happen?  Yes.  That seems the safer way to go.  The other way seems a bit too risky, my luck-one wrong nod of the head and I end up with Major Healy.

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