Waiting Game

I very much feel like my life is in a waiting period. It is not so much a dreadful feeling like that of waiting in a doctor's waiting room for test results or the frustrating feeling of waiting in traffic when you are already late for a meeting. My life is in the waiting moment preceding a soccer match. There is an intense stillness and and sense of anticipation when the players are lined up in the tunnel before they step on to the pitch. In the wait, players focus on the task before them and strive to settle the last fleeting thoughts of doubt or pressure that stand in the way of victory. Soon it will all be lights, camera, and action.

It has been nearly five months since I was laid off from the bank. I submitted my application to the Nashville Police Department shortly after I was released from the world of the working. That was when I officially become a player in the waiting game. The wait is long. The hiring process is "meticulous and time consuming, lasting, on average, four to eight months" so says the department's website. My spirit has not been hindered by the time I have had to wait thus far. If anything, I can take solace in the fact that I have moved past the halfway point in my waiting period. What lays ahead of me are the pre-employment tests and a series of interviews. The wait has allowed me to focus on improving my physical conditioning and to mull over why I should be a good candidate for the police academy. Many times in life our goals require us to give something of ourselves to achieve greatness, and at this point I have the time to sacrifice.

Time will tell if my aspiration for a career transition into law enforcement is meant to be. My only investment in this endeavor has been time. If in a few weeks I have failed to earn a spot in the academy, then I am no worse off than when I first stepped out onto the pitch of the waiting game.