Leaving the Field

The worst days in the field are always when you have around a week left until you go home.

When you first get there, you are resigned to your fate, so you just stick your nose to the grindstone and get to work. It’s all relatively new to you, so you’re enjoying the change of scenery and the ability to not sit in a desk all day at work. You make it fun because you know you’re going to have to be doing it for a while.

Conversely, when you’re just about to leave is when it suddenly dawns on you that there are things you enjoy about where you are and what you doing that you don’t want to leave behind. Such as the fresh air and the open land. The physical labour and the use of the skills you went to school for (for a change). It also occurs to you that you have tons of stuff to do before you leave, and no time to do it…

A week before you leave is the worst because you start thinking about the fact that you’re going home soon. You think of all the things and the people you miss, and how happy you will be to see them when you get there. You think about your loved ones, your house, your pets – to the point that it can be difficult to think about your work. You still have work to do because, if you don’t do it, there’s no one else there to take over for you.

Luckily, I am leaving in two days, so I’m getting past the point of not wanting to be here. That being said, I don’t yet think I’m going to miss this work…