Life Map

So what have we been doing in the weeks between these gauntlets of travel? Working, cooking, and watching the ever-evolving life-map branch ahead of us -- circling around and around the upcoming forks in the road. Answers are hard to come by through discussion alone, and though frustrated by the fog of decisions-yet-to-be-made-by-others-that-will-impact-us, we’re trying to be patient and let things fall as they will.

The clarity around my own career choices I hoped would come with time and distance has coalesced into one not-so-helpful conclusion: There are structural problems in educational systems the world over, but there are also young people across the globe who need the kind of support and opportunity that comes from close relationships with mentors and teachers. I enjoy both sides of the work and have my own strengths and weaknesses in each area, so which direction to choose? In the end, perhaps it’s the fact that I love working with a team that will make the decision – traditional classroom teaching is a somewhat solitary pursuit and I miss the excitement of brainstorming a really amazing and spot-on training curriculum with other passionate professionals.

And, of course, there are other considerations and constraints. I was determined to move to Athol with Nathaniel next year, try out living in a rural community, elements of which we both miss from our childhoods, and take whatever job I could find in the area. As of now, it seems like the opportunities for compelling work are slim – hopefully some teaching jobs if any open up in the nearby tiny school districts over the summer, maybe some student affairs jobs at local colleges if I’m willing to commute a ways, certainly nanny and tutor jobs if I’m willing to just take anything. An email from a search firm looking for a nonprofit manager in Boston made me realize how much I love that side of the work as well, how much my network in Boston might make it possible to find not just a decent job but a great job, and how much I miss the closeness of community we’ve already built in the city. So, live partially apart for a year and face tough geographic decisions again at the end of farm school? (Boo) Invest in Athol and, if we don’t love it, or the right opportunities aren’t there, start over again in 2013 (exhausting thought!)?

Of course it’s not as bad as all that. From a different perspective it’s a choice between great options and we count ourselves incredibly lucky. Updates as we find answers!