the aligning of stars (a long post)

***photo from one of our adventures.  washington, dc.  april 2008.  see bigger on flickr.  (c) sarah ahearn. 2008. 
 

i thought i might title this post "no mom, i'm not pregnant", but decided against it.  you see, my silly mother thought (or hoped?)  that since i mentioned in my last post that we had some good news come our way... well, she was just so sure that "everyone" was going to think that i am "with child".  can't anyone have any other sort of good news when you are 31?  apparently not.  hmmm.  can you tell this is a bit of a touchy subject for me!?  the time will come for that announcement someday, but for now we are just focusing on life and careers sans les babies and i am quite happy with that.  (just give me my own dog and all will be well with the world.) 

so about that good news~  my darling husband, who has been a graduate student for almost 10 years, officially heard last week that he had landed his dream job.  starting in july, he'll be a full- time biology professor here. we're still pinching ourselves as it really is quite amazing.  you see, if you've been the wife of a grad student/academic you may really know how huge it is for your husband/spouse to get a job period, especially now in this economy.  so many folks, once they have graduated with PhDs end up with postdocs (post school, pre job positions) that last for a few years and then it's time to move on.  we knew all along that this could be the route we might have to take, but for me, being the spouse, it was harder and harder to imagine as it meant that i had really no control over where i future would be going.  so to think that we know what the next phase of our life will bring is pretty great in itself.  it's been a very long time since we've been able to say we know what's around the corner.

a professor friend of ours proclaimed to me the other day~ "do you know how many stars had to align for this to happen?!"  

it's just pretty amazing, the stars have certainly aligned for us.  not only is it his dream job, but it is exactly where we wanted to settle down but never thought that we actually could.  we'll be living, come summer, in my favorite town hands down. we're within a 1/2 hour or so from both of our families as well.  even as i type it's still quite unbelievable.  it means we won't have to move away (again) and that we can finally relax and have a place to truly call home.  oh, and just to clarify for those who may be thinking, didn't they already move back that way?  why yes we did, it's kind of a long story, but we have moved back to western massachusetts and are housesitting (aka: living rent free) through this spring.  we took a big leap of faith, as we moved back this winter NOT knowing that we would be able to stay in the area, NOT knowing if he got the job and NOT knowing what the heck we were going to do next.  so yes, the stars have aligned for sure and we are very, very lucky.  

so that's where i've been for pretty much the past 6 months or so, in limbo, not knowing.  the knowing feels so much better!  it, the knowing,  is finally allowing me to focus on my work more fully.  for now, it's nice to know that i can just focus on my career with art and teaching, without having to do things like wait tables!  hurrah!  

wow, that was a lot of spilling open, thanks for listening!  

i thought a new blog header was in order here,  i must be getting a jump on spring cleaning or something... i've made a new etsy header too, working on some ads for various blogs, adding more and more to the sale (!) and doing my taxes. feeling organized and thanking those stars.  

happy weekend, i'll be back to more regular posting to show new work next week! 

xo, *s

*oh! and if you are an artist/blogger in the area please say hello!  i'd love to connect!