Limbo No More

Seems I have at least one loyal reader - so I will end her suspense. Yes, I got the job. I did many versions of the happy dance yesterday. Many versions included flailing arms like Kermit the Frog. Oh yes, I waved my hands in the air. I waved them like I just didn't care. It looked a lot like:

I have to admit that it's taken a while for this to sink in. Starting in August, I'll have a permanent job doing something that I really enjoy. OK, yes, students can be frustrating, infuriating, maddening, and tragic. But, on most days, on balance, it's a pretty good life. I get paid (not enough) to do something that I really like to do and that I think I'm pretty good at - if you can believe my students' evaluations.

By some miracle, I managed to quit a perfectly good, but unsatisfying career, embarked on a new adventure that turned out to be a LOT of work, and ended up right where I want to be. If I didn't believe in divine forces before, I sure do now. So, Susan Boyle, you live your dream, and if you don't mind, I'll live mine, without You Tube.

Best of all, this new job means I can live right where I want to be. As I watch friends take jobs far away from family and community, I know that I am very lucky. As I watch friends take jobs in the armpits of various states, I know that I am very, very lucky. Speaking as a former army brat and longtime gypsy, I can't believe that I don't have to pack up and move. Not next month, not next year, not ever. I can stay put. I can put down roots. I can make a life here. I might go nuts and buy a house (gasp). I don't have to try to find a new doctor, dentist, or hairdresser. I don't have to find boxes. It's about damn time.

I know that there will be days when this new job will be challenging and stressful. When I quit my old job, I said, "Every job comes with crap. You just have to decide which crap you're willing to deal with." I'm a regular Confucius, I know. From what I can tell, this academic job comes with less crap than most. I'm willingly giving up the big research university salary for easier tenure requirements and quality of life. I've reached a point in my life where I don't want to work all the damn time, and I don't want to bounce around from school to school so I can slave and sweat my way up the academic ladder. Nope, I'm happy teaching basic history courses at a small state college where the faculty aren't trying to cut each other's throats (at least they didn't try to during the interview, which is more than I can say for the faculty at my graduate school.)

I can only hope that my graduate school friends and current colleagues in visiting positions find permanent jobs right where they want to be. That will be a very happy day.