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| my kitchen a few months ago...still mid-renovation but man I love those countertops...and I really have to figure out how to get all that stuff in the corner off the countertops because it drives me crazy to look at it in this photo |
I've been thinking a lot in the past year or two about what my life will look like once Matthew starts kindergarten (and Abigail starts her senior year of high school). Still quite awhile away, but Matthew will start a little playgroup preschool next fall and then probably do 2 years of preschool after that (since he has a late September birthday he won't start kindergarten until he's six) and it's on the horizon, my friends.
I don't know that I've ever been very specific here about my educational background, but my undergraduate degree is in English with a minor in business management, and my master's is in English literature. My original plan was to go to law school, but there was very clear heavenly direction that law school was not the best route for our family and that English was (cue a lot of crying and throwing things and praying and eventual very grumpy resignation). And my M.A. has been an absolute godsend--literally!!--over our marriage, since the fifteen years I've taught freshman composition, advanced writing, technical writing, and business writing have allowed us to stay free from student loans and take care of our family's needs. But it is not necessarily a job that I find joy and rejuvenation and excitement in; if there's something I need to do for work it's always something I'm dreading rather than something I can't wait to start.
My personality is such that I need to stay busy, and hence all of the thinking about what I'll do when Matthew is in school full time. Probably a lot of house stuff and managing family life and volunteering in kids' schools and running (so so so much running!!!) but I also loooove spending money and I will have kids in college and so it would be nice if one of the things I'm spending time on was a job that brought me a lot of personal satisfaction and fulfillment, while still allowing me the energy and flexibility that I need as a mother and wife.
What I keep coming back to is that I really really love creating beautiful spaces. As a kid and teenager I would constantly rearrange my furniture and belongings (I vividly remember creating little vignettes with my jewelry every time I took it off--like I had all these old jewelry boxes and scrap pieces of satin and I would carefully swirl necklaces over them and endlessly reposition the chains until they looked just right) and drawing up house plans and reading Architectural Digest. I love reading design blogs and window-shopping and one of the very best experiences of my entire adult life was when we moved last year and suddenly I had a whole house that needed to be furnished and the money to do it. IT WAS AMAZING and I just was so happy all the time hunting for the perfect pillow to bring out the exact shade of blue in the rug, or the perfect pot to complement a particular plant, etc. So this has me thinking about the process to become an interior designer, or a stylist, or whatever...I don't even know all of the options there. I love designing and creating beautiful spaces and that's just something that brings me great joy.
Other things I'm kicking around: more things to do with running (like being a running columnist? Again, how does one get into that because most venues I've looked at don't solicit submissions?) or doing a cooking school thing. I used to really want to be a financial planner (I LOVED my business minor so so so much) but that's not quite as appealing to me these days.
Anyway. Things about which I am thinking.
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