Even Cheerleaders Get the Blues

Sitting by the door is a letter that I'm avoiding mailing. It's the last step to saying goodbye to my life as a Landscape Architect, and I'm not sure I'm ready for that final step of leaving that life I once had.

Now that I've been out of the field for a little over two years, I've grown to miss it. I miss the rush of meeting deadlines, of accomplishing the impossible. Meeting with clients, cataloging their needs and wants, and determining the best creative solution that addressed their criteria as well as the requirements of the municipality we were working with and the public that would use and adopt the space long after the job was completed.

I miss the challenge of finding just the right plant materials that meet the design requirements as well as those of the environment without sacrificing the enjoyment of the people moving to and through the area.

I miss being in an office with other people. The team-like experiences of working side by side with folks through stressful and challenging projects and having someone to celebrate the victories and console on the defeats. I miss learning about where they came from, whom they share their lives with, how they got to be where they are and what they want to do with all of their tomorrows.

During one review with an employer, in recognizing my ability to bring people in the office together, she referred to me as the 'Office Cheerleader'. A simple but effective term it accurately described that I noticed people's moods, took interest in what was going on in their lives, and make them feel like part of a team, a family almost.

Many would consider being called a cheerleader as an insult, but for me, it was and is a tremendous compliment. Maybe it's that even in the face of adversity and long hauls of discouraging events I am still able to find the bright side of things.

At the moment though, I'm having a hard time seeing the bright side. Physics took a lot of wind out of my sails, the fall is looking to be challenging as well and I'm wondering if the path to becoming an MD is not the one I should be following.

We are about to head to the mountains for our annual camping trip and I hope with time away from the 'real world' and the opportunity to read a fun book, I'll come back lighter and leave the blues behind.