jillsalahub

1. Our garden, and the gardens that supplement our garden. We are finally getting tomatoes, and the cucumbers keep coming. I bought basil at the farmer’s market to make pesto because I waited too long to pick ours and the plants are already dying off. I also got some fingerling potatoes and carrots for roasting, as well as a watermelon and more peaches.

2. Flowers from the Farmer’s Market. They make me so happy, especially when there are leftovers from the week before that I can put on my writing desk.

3. Swimming. As I move further from the panic of having my face in the water, out of the shadow of the fear of drowning into something that looks more like actual swimming, I can feel my body starting to learn and get comfortable, and I feel myself trusting my body in a whole new way.

4. I quit my job! I know I already told you that, but I keep remembering and it cheers me up, especially in those moments where I’m at work and it feels overwhelming — I get to remind myself that every day is the last day (for example, August 15 was the last August 15 I’ll ever work there). Even though people I work with are sad I’ll be leaving, they have all been so happy for me, so supportive.

5. My tiny family. My favorite.

Bonus joy: Clean sheets, clearing space, grilled cheese sandwiches, long naps, good books, good TV and movies, a long list of really good podcasts I can’t wait to listen to, rain, our whole house fan, the compost pile, twinkle lights, people who are huggers, sitting in the sauna with Eric, a big glass of cold clean water, grasshoppers, a hummingbird feeding in my flowerbed, pulled pork breakfast burritos from Mainline at the Farmer’s Market, how happy Sam is riding in the car, how sweet Ringo is with little kids who really really want to pet him, seeing our neighbor’s sweet old dog out for a walk.

I quit my CSU job today. No kidding, I quit my job. Well, technically I gave nine months’ notice, will finish this academic year (my 19th at CSU!) before I’m gone for good.

It is such a relief to finally get to tell you! I’ve been hinting at it, but wasn’t able to say anything here until I made it official. And today, my first day back after summer vacation, I made it official. I had already told my boss when I left for summer break that I was going to spend my time away considering what I might do next, how I wanted to spend the next 10 or 15 years, so she wasn’t surprised.

It’s been clear to me for a long time that it was time for something else. In fact, I never planned to stay at CSU in the first place. I meant to get my graduate degree and move on, but since we settled here, bought a house, and what else I might do besides the vague “be a writer” wasn’t clear, I stayed.

My plan is to focus more on writing and teaching. I’ll be blogging more, working on finishing at least one of the books I’ve been working on for years, and being more serious about sending things out for publication. I’ll be teaching, both in person and online – yoga, writing, and meditation. I already have a plan for some online classes, “Cultivating Practice” and “Wabi-Sabi for Writers” will be two of the first, as well as teaching some regular group writing practice courses. I’m going to continue to teach in person locally, as well as offering private online and in person meditation instruction.

My other intention is to focus even more on social justice action. I’m not sure exactly what this will look like, but one thing I want to offer is yoga for bigger bodies, which doesn’t even exist where I live. The other ways this might manifest is simply by having more time to do more work with local initiatives and issues.

I want to add one important note: I’m only able to do this because my husband has a job he loves that pays well enough that I don’t have to keep my salary and benefits. This opportunity is all about privilege. I’m aware of mine, grateful for it, and intend to use it to ease suffering, in myself and in the world.