Friday, December 31, 2010

Core Story

What is my core story?  I love my job, and my job is my life, so I love my life.  That is a statement that I should not write for a lot of reasons.  One, I know people who are fighting to get into jobs like mine, people who are more qualified than I was when I was first looking.  By saying this, I am not trying to brag but trying to show my gratitude.  Also saying that my job is my life is something that really freaks a lot of people out.  As someone wrote on Facebook the other day when I said something along these lines, "When does the job end and life begin?"  To me, they're intertwined, purposely.  I don't have kids.  This is a world that puts up a lot of roadblocks to gay men having children.  We explored our options in the late 1990s and decided in 2000 that we were officially not going to have children.  So, we both began to explore other options for what our life could become, which meant we both devoted more time to our careers.  It also meant that we started regular saving for big trips, what with not having to save for college or anything like that.

But, basically, he returned to graduate school, and I finished.  I got the job where we decided to make our permanent home.  And we both work all the time but in ways that don't feel like work.  Oh, sure, there are days when the deadlines and demands get to be a bit much.  In general, though, we're reading things that relate to our work, we're watching things on TV on in the movie theatres that relate to our work, and we're spending time talking about our work.  And we feel very, very lucky to be able to do that.  While I'm on sabbatical, he will be finishing his dissertation, and we'll be there to support each other, reading srafts, offering encouragement, giving each other space when needed and shoulder at other times.

My core story is that I love talking, reading, writing, and thinking about all these things I get to talk, read, write, and think about.  I seek opportunities where I can do more talking, reading, writing, and thinking.  I don't do it to be a star or to impress anyone; the rather short list of publications on my CV sure proves that.  It's more about the daily routine, the curling up in the chair in my office with a good book, the curling up on the couch with the husband to watch a movie that will have us talking for weeks.

I am lucky to be where I am, and I know that.  Things can change very quickly, which is why I try to appreciate and celebrate what I have while I have.  That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

3 comments:

  1. What a fantastic core story: loving ones work makes a huge difference AND I am guessing your students benefit from this passion as well.

    Fabulous on SOOO many levels!

    Read my Reverbs here.

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  2. That's great that you have found work for yourself that IS you, that is so integrated with what your life is about. When it all comes together like this it is synergy, and great things come from that. Did you realize this through your reverb postings, or is this something you already knew?

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  3. Thanks! I've been working for a few years now to create this situation. Once we decided not to have kids, I asked myself what I wanted my life to be, and this is it. Took a few years to get here, but I'm here now, so I'm trying to appreciate it and keep it up.

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