Monday, February 18, 2008

Working Our Way Out of Retirement

Our temporary retirement will soon be coming to an end. Since leaving Arizona over 4 months ago most of our time has been spent putting our house together (which seems to be a never-ending task). We've done some traveling to the east coast and to the far north; the holidays were our best ever with 10 days of celebrating with family. But with the coming of the new year it was time to prepare for our new livelihoods.

Jerry has been wanting to get back into truck driving for a very long time but needed to get his Commercial Driver's License (CDL). The Ozark Technical Community College provides a 5 week driving course that not only prepares the drivers for their CDL, but carries clout with the hiring trucking firms. Jerry has completed the course and passed his CDL test. Now he can not only drive a truck but is qualified to carry any kind of cargo. He is certified for hazardous materials, tankers, 18 wheelers, you name it. Jerry is really pumped and can't wait to be driving everyday. The most likely prospects for driving jobs are right here in southwest Missouri which would be great. We both prefer that he is home every night.

Congratulations, Jerry!





As for me, all these photos I have on file are ready to pay off. Also, the handmade designer greeting cards are going on the market! Made For Keeps Originals will soon have its Grand Opening. The most successful and respected craft mall in Branson will be my "store front". The Branson Craft Mall is very popular because of the variety of the crafts and that all the vendors are artists, filling their spaces with products of their individual talents and creativity. My mother is having terrific success there with her sweatshirt jackets. I don't know exactly how many jackets she has sold, but it numbers in the hundreds!
Today we started arranging the display fixtures and soon will be filling the racks and walls with photographs and greeting cards. It is fun decorating my little "shop" with my own style. I have been spending a lot of time in preparation, and I can't wait for the day that all I need to do is keep the shop stocked. I see that being a full time job! This is quite an adventure, one I have dreamed of for so many years. We are starting with baby steps, but are prepared to start running any time.




So, if you have some champagne handy, or any beverage will do, let's toast to dreams coming true --- ours AND yours!



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