more leaping

organic u-pick raspberries: $2.50/pint=a steal

You know how when you are about to give birth to your first child, you know your life is going to change pretty radically, and you've read all you can, and you've folded all those baby clothes, and you can demonstrate all those nursing positions you read about, and you're as ready as you can be...BUT.

You have absolutely no idea what it will really be like. Leaping blindly into the unknown.

I'm having all that all over again and this time, it's not a baby, but a new chapter in my librarian life that I am preparing for. I've been hired to be a district elementary librarian, starting this fall. This is just what I have been working for in my master's program, it's exactly the field I want to be in, and the benefits are many.

I have also left behind a fabulous part-time job at my beloved Rockport Public Library: the people, my colleagues, my mentor and leader (boss is the wrong word), have all helped me become this professional person who I am. It's kind of weird to leave a job I love so much.

But now, this summer, I am folding all those baby clothes, excited and a little scared and having no idea the directions my life will have to change and re-form. I am reading a lot of kid lit and school library materials, preparing benchmarks and lessons, creating systems, and doing what I can to make this transition smooth. I'm sure I've overlooked some really big deal thing that will blindside me in the fall, but oh well. I am doing what I can.

After that first child is born, you can't remember not having him in your life. What did we DO before parenthood, we ask each other, what did we TALK about, and think of the TIME we wasted! I'm thinking of my family, my boys who are grown up enough to do a little bit more for themselves, but I know they'll still need me as much, in different ways. I'm thinking of Mr. Crafty, who is ready to step up his already-significant involvement here at home and bolster me up and give me ideas, the way I have done for him these past 12 years. For my part, I am planning our fall menus at least through October. Because that is a complete creativity-suck for me.

And as for the creative endeavors part, that's part of the mystery. I know a lot of creativity will be in my work life: creative organizing, teaching, and managing. I'm stepping out of my home life and into the workforce, full-time, for the first time. I will always be a Maker of Things, it will just be different now than it has been.

I'm waiting to see how it unfolds.

Speaking of unfolding, this quilt will be a gift for my eldest who will turn 13 this December. Check out the Yellow Submarine-inspired fabric in that lower left corner. Love. It. And I love the boy who it will snuggle. SHHH! It's a secret!

Blog Readers: I'm asking for any advice you might have about making this transition. Thanks.