A year has passed...

I think that I may have just written another poem.  I dedicate this post to all who have seen me through this past year.  To those of you who have been part of my village, I say thank you.

A year has passed since what I thought was the worse day happened.  
A year has passed and that day was a day of freedom.

A year has passed and there were times when I thought there was no hope left.
A year has passed and I was so very hopeful.

A year has passed and there were days when I thought I would not recover.
A year has passed and recovery was a slow process that certainly happened.

A year has passed and I did not believe that everything would work out.
A year has passed and life certainly worked out better than I could have ever imagined.

A year has passed and at the beginning all I could say was "I just don't know"
A year has passed and I realized that not knowing led to incredible experiences.

A year has passed and life as I knew it had ended. 
A year has passed and life as I knew it had ended and that was a really good thing.

A year has passed and I thought I lost everything.
A year has passed and I realized I had everything I needed.

A year has passed and I felt very lost.
A year has passed and I found myself.

A year has passed and I hated myself.
A year has passed and I loved myself, cared for myself and nurtured myself.

A year has passed and I was frustrated, angry and very sad.
A year has passed and I was humbled, grateful, loved and supported.

A year has passed and I am happy.

And now the moment you have all been waiting for...

Ok, so maybe it is not the moment that you have been waiting for but it is certainly the moment that I have been waiting for.  I accepted a job as an Area Coordinator at Smith College, starting on July 1. Many of you know this as supported by the nearly 200 likes on my facebook announcement (that is amazing by the way).  And though knowing where I am going to working does not mean I have it all figured out or even 100% assurance that I will be happy,  it does lift a huge weight off of my shoulders and allows me to breathe in deep and more importantly exhale very deeply.  One of the biggest stressors these past almost 10 months has been whether or not I would be able to sustain myself financially in the near future.  Because I have figured out how to sustain myself in so many other ways, but that was the missing piece, the financial assurance.  That piece of the puzzle has now been filled and now I know that I will have a regular income.  Since that piece has been taken care of, what I can now be excited about is that I get that security in a job I cannot wait to start, at a College I am honored to be working at, in a department where I know and respect my new colleagues.

I have written about how I am ready to be transitioned yet I also know that this is a huge transition.  I have been living a very interesting life the past almost 10 months and the acceptance of this job further affirms my commitment to my community and my commitment to myself.  Someone asked if I will continue this blog once I found a full time job and the answer to that is ABSOLUTELY!!!  The tagline of this blog is "Follow my journey of support and freedom in a time of unknown possibilities.  Stories, quotes and music that motivate and inspire."  There will always be unknown possibilities and I will continue to have stories to share and lessons that I learn.  

There is a reason I chose to call this blog "It Takes a Village to Raise a Stacey."  If it was not for this village I would not have been able to get through this time.  I have also said that I believe that what I put out into the universe will come back to me.  And here is what I know.  I know that those of you  in my village have put out some really good energy on my behalf.   I know that I got this job on my own merits, and I know I worked really hard to get to where I am right now.  I also know that the love and support I have received from all of you has made this all possible, I know that I could not have done this on my own.  I know one more thing, I know that it is time for me to celebrate...and you should too!!!

A month has passed...

More then a month has passed and after suggestions from a number of very important people in my life I have decided to blog about my experiences.  Over a month ago I became unemployed, though the circumstances surrounding that are inconsequential to this blog.  It is the time that has transpired and the love and support that I have felt since that I will be writing about.  I know that others have suffered loss and for me that loss is a piece of my identity which in our culture is synonymous with your career.  I hope that the lessons I am learning (because there are many) could provide some support for others who may find themselves in similar situations. I am doing lots of soul searching and yoga to figure out what my next life and career steps will be.  I have been doing a lot of reflecting and some writing and plan to share that through this venue.  This journey has been a humbling and freeing one and I will share the stories of people who are helping me through, quotes and music that are inspiring to me and articles that I have found helpful. I welcome comments and questions and offer to you my friendship and support.The reason I chose the title of this blog is because I truly believe that the support I am receiving from the members of "my village" is what is helping to lift me up and sustain me.

For those who may be worrying about me and need the more pragmatic information, I am currently job searching locally for a job in higher education, applying to part time and temporary positions as well and plan to do a national job search in 6 months if things do not pan out locally. I really do love where I live and believe the communities I have become part of are what is keeping me so grounded and positive.  Though this ‘plan’ will I am sure change as life is ever changing.  This blog will not necessarily focus on the details of my job search though I will certainly talk about what I am learning through this process.

"This moving away from comfort and security, this stepping out into what is unknown, uncharted and shaky - that's called liberation." ~Pema Chodron