No dreamer is too small, no dream is too big

Have you ever had a dream? A passion? A yearning for something more than where your life was at?
Damian did.
And despite the reactions he imagined, and those he knew for sure. He broke away from what was expected of him, and he chased his dream.
And so it is with great pride that I can tell you that today is Damian's last day as a full time Naval officer. (He will remain with the reserves and pick and choose jobs that interest him.)
As of the 31st of March 2008 -he will sign on with Queensland rail as a trainee train driver.
There were 48 positions advertised, and he secured one of these. There were 4,500 applicants!
When I first met Damian, he, like me, had a passion for his job, thoughroughly enjoyed what he did and looked forward to going to work. This satisfation trickled through to every part of his life and it was a pleasure to meet someone so content with thier life as I was. Then something happened, he was sent to sea a while ago, (and those in the Navy will know of the person and trip of which I speak) and that trip, I feel, broke Damian's spirit, he was under the command of a very harsh man, had very little if no sleep, and was belittled constantly, he was never quite the same after it and I am not the only one who has noticed it. His passion and drive dissappeared and he has been lost for a very long time. Once he could make anyone laugh, in any situation, that person disappeared and he became insular and very quiet and serious.
He only came alive at the computer, when he drove trains on our simulator, when he spoke of being a child at Palmwoods and watching the locos steam through. He tried to engage me in different images and sounds and panoramas he had managed to download - that was his passion now.
When the trainee jobs were advertised, it took a bit of doing, but he worked up the strength to apply, worried about people's reactions and thinking he wouldn't be good enough, with me knowing full well they were dying for people like him, (and they were).
At one point he said, what if I fail? (he really wanted this very badly) I pointed out that "failing" was wanting something and never having the guts to go for it. His application started in June, this led to being accepted stage by stage, interview by interview, and finally just before christmas, being offered a position.
He wants to drive a coal train for a while, really throw himself into it and get lots of driving under his belt, so they have given him a position in Bluff which is 170ks west of Rockhampton. His roster spans 8 weeks and in that time he gets 20 days off. His days off will never change which makes it easy for us to take advantage of cheap airfares, or train travel etc. And either he will come up to us, or we will travel down. His training will be in Rockhampton and during this time his accom. and meals are all provided. He will have 5 weeks of theory, then 4 weeks driver training (in an actual train) another 5 weeks of theory and then onto the depot to be tested and endorsed as a driver. I am fully expecting him to blitz the training and qualify in record time. I think secretly, so is he. They invited spouses to attend the last interview, and the guys who interviewed him were really lovely and blown away by his professionalism and preperation, they are really really keen for him to work for them up here and so eventually he will post back to Cairns and work from here. So we are all very excited for him and very proud of him for making this a reality. Kylin is really excited that daddy is going to drive a train, already some of the old Damian is re-appearing and it's so lovely to see.
Love and hugs to you all - Karen xoxoxo