..."So, we were just talking about what we should do, since you've applied for another job, and we think we should start looking for your replacement."
My heart stopped (cue weak Tin Man tie-in).
"Okay, I think that's for the best, I said."
"When were you thinking would be your last day?"
"Let's say April 15th," I replied.
They marked the day on the calendar, said they were going to be sorry to lose me, and hoped I would stay in touch. They prayed that the right job for me would come through. And when they wrote my paycheck, it was too high. I took it back and told them they'd overpaid me, that I only made $___ an hour. "Not anymore," they said (I told you, they are saints!).
Over the next two days, real panic began to set in. On one hand, I felt so damn free for the first time in forever. But then, the whole "crash and burn" scenario took over my headspace. No one would hire me as a camp host, it was WAY too late in the season to start applying, and I hadn't heard from anyone. No one was replying to emails, or applications, or phone calls, or voicemail. It was that "you don't even exist in this world" silence that I frequently hear on the days I know the world has entirely forgotten me. I was not going to make it very long on the money I had in savings, but I would at least leave the area so that I could look for work closer to the kids and granddaughters.
I kept looking for other companies that hired camp hosts, and lucked upon one I hadn't seen before that had a few openings in northern California. I applied at night, and heard from them early the next morning. Two phone interviews later, and they had offered me a job. It would be a super-challenging campsite, huge (their largest), and rowdy, and I'd be far away from backup if things got out of control (which is why they always hired couples for this site). But. A job, doing what I wanted to do, near where I wanted to be! I started to unclench, and breathe again... And then I started to get excited!
Within an hour, the first company, the one with the great reputation, called me, and said they'd had some trouble with their server, and could I please resubmit my application. I did. And they emailed me, and said I'd been referred to some area managers who still needed camp hosts. And this morning, I got a call from a woman at Sequoia National Forest, who gave me two choices, and I picked the cooler (temp-wise), smaller campsite.
Sequoia Freaking National Forest!!
Now, if only my new truck and trailer will present themselves to me at no cost, that would be amazing!
Exciting!!!
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