Sunday 20th May 2018
I was asked the other day by an interested reader, "Why don't you write in your blog where you have worked?" I guess the best way to answer that is "professional courtesy". I have always believed in, if you do right by others, that the universe will do right by you. It hasn't always worked out to be a valid mantra as some people have done some horrific things to me over my life, but then on the other hand, I have had some amazingly, supportive people in my life also who have lifted me up, dusted me off and given me the desire to keep moving forward.
As far as not publishing the names of where I have worked, for me it's all about protecting those companies and the amazing people in those companies that have supported me. You see, I may not be working with those companies anymore, but I still posses a fair amount of loyalty to them because without their support and guidance, I wouldn't be who I am today. Yes, I have mentioned two names to date during this journey, but they are worth singling out because these two ladies, (Mirren and Maida) I feel that I owe a great debt to.
This next few parts of this journey, I am going to be talking about what most of you have probably been waiting for, the transition process and how it all came about. For this I will need to refer back to my wife as she was a very big part of my story also. I'm not going to dig to much into that side of things because of what some people would refer to as some misplaced loyalty but I still feel a sense of feeling responsible for her which no doubt will make some people cringe at this point, but you have to remember she has been a major part of my life for around 25 years now. Not that I have feelings for her by any stretch of the imagination. Thankfully we have both moved on and making lives for ourselves.
Our story began many years ago one Saturday night at a Christian Youth trip to Phillip Island. A group of us had gathered together in the car park of our Church preparing to head down to the Island to visit the Penguin Parade which is a local tourist attraction here in Victoria. Each night around dusk, a colony of Little Penguins gather together in a raft (a group of penguins) and slowly make their way up the beach to their burrows. I always had an interest in Penguins for some strange reason for as long as I could remember. So a trip down to the Island to visit them certainly appealed to me. That plus the fact a girl who I was interested in (not the girl I eventually married), was also going.
I had been watching this girl for a while and dropped some not so subtle hints that I was interested but clearly not subtle enough because she was never all that responsive. Regardless, I was unperturbed and continued on my quest to win her heart. I must of seemed rude that first day when I met my future wife for the first time because I wouldn't of seemed all that responsive myself as I only had eyes for the one girl. To be perfectly honest, I don't even remember her until we got to the island.
Our small group of Christian Youth finally arrived at the Island and straight away I was thankful that I had brought a jacket as it was unbelievably cold and threatening to rain. I had actually brought my umbrella just on the off chance that the skies opened up and the rain tumbled down. We made our way down the boardwalk to the Penguin Parade and took up our spots at the stadium type seating on the beach waiting for the impending arrival of my favourite animal. I made myself comfortable trying so hard to get as close as I could to the girl I was interested in but she was surrounded by a group of her close friends so it was a hard task. Trust me to develop feelings for one of the most likable girls in our church group.
Before long the Penguins popped their heads out of the water checking that the coast was clear and began making their way up the beach towards home for a much needed rest after a long day of fishing in the ocean. It was about then, when the first Penguin hit the beach that the inevitable happened, the rain came pouring down. Everyone else just ran for cover while I pulled out my trusty fold up umbrella and unfurled it. I stood there for a moment looking out into the chaos of tourists running everywhere ducking for cover and I noticed a lone figure standing all alone in the rain continuing to watch the penguins head up the beach.
I decided to walk over to her and offer to share my umbrella with her so she could at least stay dry. She was very thankful and introduced herself as I did. She told me that she remembered me from the Church car park. I wish I could have said the same but to be honest I didn't even realise that she was even with our group until that point. We spent the rest of our time walking around together under my shelter looking and laughing at the penguins. I must of made an impact on her as she wouldn't leave my side for the rest of the night.
The next few Youth Group events, the same girl just kept turning up. She also began appearing at Church more (which she told me later she hated but she wanted to see me so she went). She also began turning up at our church volleyball nights. I eventually found out from a mutual friend that she was interested in me. Now, this was new ground for me, no one had ever been interested in me before I was with them so I decided that I needed to find out more about her because lets face it, the girl I was actually interested in didn't even know that I existed so I was pretty much banging my head up against a brick wall there.
We spent the night talking and getting to know each other. We swapped addresses and phone numbers. She would call me each night and we would be on the phone for like three hours at a time and never run out of things to say to each other. I felt myself more and more forgetting about the original girl and found myself developing feelings more and more for this girl. I decided that one night, that I would write my feelings down in a letter and give it to her. That weekend I was going away with our church group for a band weekend. While I was there I ran into our mutual friend who once again told me how interested she was in me and that if I asked her out, she would more than likely say yes.
Let me just tell you all, that night, I couldn't get to a public phone quick enough to give her a call to tell her how much I missed her and wish I was with her there than 100s of Kms away at some silly band camp. She also told me that she was missing me and was looking forward to seeing me again. With our mutual friend outside the telephone box egging me on saying "Ask Her." I finally found the courage inside to ask her, if she would go out with me. The phone went quiet for a few moments as I sweated on a reply of any type. She eventually came back with the answer, "Who's asking?". I was like what? I quickly replied that I was asking and she straight away said yes, much to my relief.
I later found out from her mother that after the phone call that night she began dancing around the kitchen singing to herself that she had a new boyfriend. I may of brought that up a few times over the years to embarrass her a little from time to time and we would laugh about it together. The drive coming back from band camp without a doubt was the longest trip of my life. I so desperately wanted to get back to see her and hold her in my arms and begin our relationship together. Little did I know that 25 Years later that I would be writing about here.
I decided to walk over to her and offer to share my umbrella with her so she could at least stay dry. She was very thankful and introduced herself as I did. She told me that she remembered me from the Church car park. I wish I could have said the same but to be honest I didn't even realise that she was even with our group until that point. We spent the rest of our time walking around together under my shelter looking and laughing at the penguins. I must of made an impact on her as she wouldn't leave my side for the rest of the night.
The next few Youth Group events, the same girl just kept turning up. She also began appearing at Church more (which she told me later she hated but she wanted to see me so she went). She also began turning up at our church volleyball nights. I eventually found out from a mutual friend that she was interested in me. Now, this was new ground for me, no one had ever been interested in me before I was with them so I decided that I needed to find out more about her because lets face it, the girl I was actually interested in didn't even know that I existed so I was pretty much banging my head up against a brick wall there.
We spent the night talking and getting to know each other. We swapped addresses and phone numbers. She would call me each night and we would be on the phone for like three hours at a time and never run out of things to say to each other. I felt myself more and more forgetting about the original girl and found myself developing feelings more and more for this girl. I decided that one night, that I would write my feelings down in a letter and give it to her. That weekend I was going away with our church group for a band weekend. While I was there I ran into our mutual friend who once again told me how interested she was in me and that if I asked her out, she would more than likely say yes.
Let me just tell you all, that night, I couldn't get to a public phone quick enough to give her a call to tell her how much I missed her and wish I was with her there than 100s of Kms away at some silly band camp. She also told me that she was missing me and was looking forward to seeing me again. With our mutual friend outside the telephone box egging me on saying "Ask Her." I finally found the courage inside to ask her, if she would go out with me. The phone went quiet for a few moments as I sweated on a reply of any type. She eventually came back with the answer, "Who's asking?". I was like what? I quickly replied that I was asking and she straight away said yes, much to my relief.
I later found out from her mother that after the phone call that night she began dancing around the kitchen singing to herself that she had a new boyfriend. I may of brought that up a few times over the years to embarrass her a little from time to time and we would laugh about it together. The drive coming back from band camp without a doubt was the longest trip of my life. I so desperately wanted to get back to see her and hold her in my arms and begin our relationship together. Little did I know that 25 Years later that I would be writing about here.
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