See, I told you dreams come true!

Um.... okay, I've never told you, or anyone else that. But nevermind! Sometimes they do!

As y'all have probably figured out, my family has been unemployed for several months now. We've been managing pretty well, all things considered (thank all the gods for Unemployment Insurance), but it's been hard. Not even so much making ends meet, which was hard but doable, but just the continuous stress of not having any real income. The situation itself is the problem, rather than just the particulars. I think that overall we've dealt with it pretty well--it hadn't been causing significant problems in our relationship (though it was causing problems with our self-relationships, I think), and our children don't really seem to have noticed that much has gone awry. Some of that, I think, is because the lifestyle that we'd been building even when we were employed was low-income, low-input, low-energy, homemade/from scratch, pantry-based, etc. So when we started relying heavily on that lifestyle, it just seemed like the norm to our kids. Score one for adapting in place, eh? =) Actually, that merits its own post, doesn't it? (Robyn makes a mental note.)

BUT....

All of that is finally over! (Whoa, okay wait, not the adapting in place part, don't worry.) I am happier-than-you-can-imagine to say that yesterday I not only accepted a job, but really THE job. The job in environmental and sustainable activism. The job that is working on helping families and communities learn to live low-input lifestyles. The job that is pursuing new ways to farm sustainably, that has a herd of alpacas, a working CSA and certified organic farm, that runs educational programs for youths on recycling, energy management, agriculture and more, the job.... omg, it's just THE JOB. And... and.... IT'S MINE!!!!

And, from a purely practical standpoint, it's a job that pays enough to be our whole family's income. So, unless something drastic changes, we are currently planning for my husband to become our house-husband, and I will be the breadwinner. As such, and this is the part I just find absolutely incredible, we can keep pursuing our home and lifestyle goals of adaptation in our family (led by Brian), while I will pursue the very same goals on a community scale at my job.

Holy shit.

This does mean that the posting on this blog will probably keep being sporadic. It might also mean that Brian will take over some or even most of the posts, since he will be taking over my old job at home, too, and so he'll probably have more to say about it than I. It might even be a fun ride to watch Brian learning the ropes of how to manage a home--it's certainly an acquired skill set, one I didn't have when I started either. But I do hope to keep this blog alive and kicking throughout, and let you guys out in InternetLand watch the transition as, effectively, Brian and I swap jobs. Should be good times!