When the Levee Breaks

"Mean old levee taught me to weep and moan...
Cryin won't help you, prayin won't do you no good"

Truer words have never been spoken, this of course, being spoken from experience. The Great Basement Flood of 2016. And we thought the Great Basement Flood of 2013 was bad. In terms of casualties, 2013 took the cake. In terms of sheer water volume, 2016 was raging with a vengeance. If you've ever wanted ankle deep water in your basement, I highly advise against it. I'll admit I was tempted to go out and get a kayak or paddle board or something, but mostly I just wanted to cry.

It was overwhelming and incredibly difficult to do anything but stand there in bewilderment. Two hours and our basement had magically turned into a lake. I wanted to just leave it. Maybe it would just go away? Unfortunately, I knew it wouldn't.

I feel like I've stood in this exact same spot in my life so many times. What's the next step?

I've been struggling with trying to reconcile where I am and where I want to be. Let me tell you, there's a gulf there. Part of my struggle is this image of a perfect career I have in my head:

Problem 1: I don't even know what it is
Problem 2: A perfect career most likely doesn't exist

So I'm chasing a unicorn or the end of a rainbow or Sasquatch. Silly, isn't it? I've just always had this need to move, to achieve, and the real world just doesn't work on my schedule. I don't have a plan, and I don't even know where I want to go. I just expect so much of myself.

Within the confines of school, I was able to have a measuring stick. To know where I needed to be and how to get there. The world just doesn't work that way, and I sure haven't figured out how to make the world work for me.

I'm trying to enjoy all the good things I have, but something keeps telling me that I need to be doing something with my life. I just wish I knew what that "something" was/is.

A friend posted an interested article awhile back about how there is no such thing as a "perfect" job, how even people who love their jobs still have bad days, and even though they enjoy their job, they still hate about 20% of the stuff that goes along with that dream job. That, I can get behind. That, I can understand.

Here's to hoping that instead of the 5 gallon wet vac, I can find a water transfer pump. In the literal sense, it was a lifesaver. Now all I need is a metaphorical water transfer pump to come along...