"Last May I posted a metaphor--our family was in a traffic circle, circling round and round, as we explored divergent paths. Here we are, coming close to a year later, and still circling. And, how many roads there seem to be, beckoning with divergent possibilities! It's unsettling, and stressful, and exciting, and hopeless, and hopeful, and still dizzying."So, in July, something finally happened: we shot out of the traffic circle. Into another traffic circle. In Europe, roads are indeed set up that way sometimes. So, still sort of circling again, but now in a different circle.
In July, we sold our Medford home, and moved to Corvallis. We are in a wonderful neighborhood, and a wonderful house, the idea is it's our retirement house, our "forever" house (though, perhaps there is no such thing, with us...) We love it. We chose the community very intentionally: we fell in love with Corvallis through regular visits to our son in college at Oregon State University. We find that the ethos, the vibe, the norms, the "feel," and so forth, here...fit. We are with our tribe. As I'm found of saying, everyplace has its charms and its challenges, and everything is a trade-off. So far the shine has not worn off, and the charms are, well, charming. We like it here.
I still don't know what the future holds for me professionally. I'm open to options. I'm working on putting together a video blog, on the theme "Parents are Partners." I'm consulting with a communications agency. I'm preparing articles for publication. I'm still open to, and interviewing for, a variety of K-12 leadership posts, internationally (that would mean leaving our wonderful new home--at least me leaving it, perhaps the family staying back for awhile). I'm looking at (and being looked at) for post-secondary teaching positions--both online and traditional. I'm intrigued by looking at opportunities outside of education as well: investing, and real estate (investing and sales). I'm looking at teaching music, part-time, and busking and gigging a bit, for fun (and nourishment of the soul). So, yeah, in that sense, more roundabout. And I guess that means the challenges are, well, challenging.
But, there's still plenty of gas in the car, and we're leaning into the curve. So, for now, it's fun!
