Surprise! A lot has happened but don't get your hopes up that
it's craft-related. Well it is and it isn't. Read on! After I returned home from Hawaii, my family entered a
difficult season as we've faced one health crisis after another, none of which
seem to have any certain timeline for healing. The body is so resilient
sometimes, and yet other times it is astonishing how quickly it can shut down –
and with no explanation.
So that's where the whole crafting goal started to wain, and
then – wouldn't you know – I went ahead and applied for that job at my dream organization which I mentioned back in February. And against all odds, they hired me on
as their full-time development manager! One slight hiccup...it's not in
Chicago...it's in Minnesota...like northern Minnesota...like 45 miles from the
Canadian boarder Minnesota. You can imagine how thrilled my family was.
After putting in my notice at the Adler, working out all the
thrilling logistics of finding a new place to live, buying a car, training my
replacement at work, saying good bye to everyone I love (AGAIN), receiving
endless reminders on how cold and buggy it is up there (ya don't
say, now do ya?), I have traversed across the Midwest with my favorite Nacho
guy (a surprisingly quiet journeyer, praise the heavens!) to the chilly
northlands.
And it's beautiful. It's like summer camp and vacation and
Awamaki and Kimball Ave and Calvin all wrapped up into one idyllic package.
“Canoe” is on the tip of every tongue...as is “timber framing,” “knitting,”
“community,” “woodfire pizza,” and “we're so excited you're here!” I wish I
wasn't so terribly lonely already, but I'm sure friends will come with time.
I wish I could transplant everyone I love up here, but I'm sure there will be
some wonderful visits (right, guys?!).
When I left, everyone wished me well on my “next adventure.”
And while I appreciate the sentiment, things feel different this time around. I
guess it's because this is the first time I'm really expecting and hoping for
this to be a permanent relocation. I guess I've also played this “dream job”
game enough times to know that every organization is broken in some way. Every
community has bitter seeds. All tourism is exhausting, even if done
thoughtfully. So yeah, for the millions of people that asked if I'm excited,
yes, I am. But I'm not going into this blindly for once. My skin is a little
thicker and my perspective a little deeper, richer (I hope?). My heart is not
singing....yet. But Nacho? He's really really happy. And that's enough for me
today.
Anyway, here's a picture of my new home and another from my ten-minute walking commute to work:
In other words, life could be worse.
In other words, life could be worse.
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