Making a move

After a 17 year break, I’m returning to California. I’ll be joining the faculty at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education. This was a tough decision as I had gotten very accustomed to Utah - fond of it, even. But after weighing pros and cons, we decided that this was the right opportunity for our family right now. I’m genuinely excited about the professional opportunity and the terrific students and colleagues with whom I’ll be working.

Still, making the move has led to quite a bit of stress. We are selling our current house and hunting for a new one in the Bay Area, which is priced SO HIGH. Seriously, going from a 5 bedroom house where we had extra disposable income to trying to find a 3 bedroom where we’ll make ends meet is a humbling experience. I can definitely say we didn’t decide to make this move because of the cost of living!

My Stanford colleagues have been very warm in their reception. Utah colleagues have been sad that I’m leaving, but I have ongoing collaborations that will continue.

The whole summer has been bittersweet as I go on certain hikes and tell myself it could be the last time I go on a familiar trail, or I go to a local business and think it may be my last time patronizing there.

I saw an engraving on a park bench that said something like “Don’t be sad it’s over. Be glad it happened.” I’m going to try to adopt that way of thinking. And there will be awesome new adventures ahead. I’ll get to experience them once we get this moving thing figured out.