Life work

I'm getting behind with reporting on our activities, so I'll do a catch-up post before the holidays really get going. We had our first little snow a few weeks ago (thus the change of background picture), the latest first snow in recorded Boulder history, and the boys decided to make a snowman in the front yard. Growing up in California I always dreamed of snow and the fun I thought I would have with it: making snow people and snow angels, throwing snowballs, all that kind of stuff that you read about or see in movies. The reality of living in snow country is that most of the time my boys don't want to go out and play in it -- because it's cold and wet, and they don't want to get cold and wet. But having a next-door neighbor to play with seems to make snow more fun. Also, as you can see, it wasn't that cold (the snow across the street had already melted).

We celebrated Thanksgiving with just the four of us, as usual, though Z from next door came over and hung out with us (his family was eating later and just having lasagna). This year Rocket Boy put his foot down about having a turkey and I agreed that it was stupid to get one. The kids don't like it and neither do I -- I eat one slice on Thanksgiving day and then leave the rest for Rocket Boy to finish over the course of a month. And he doesn't like it either. So I went online and looked for alternatives to turkey -- salmon, which I'm pretty tired of, and tofurkey, yuck, and lasagna, and other kinds of meat, no, no. But oh look here, swordfish! What a great idea! I wasn't sure you could get swordfish around here, but Sprouts had some previously frozen for about $8/lb. So we grilled swordfish steaks and put basil-caper butter on top and they were scrumptious. Kid B took one bite and said yuck, and Kid A wouldn't try it -- but as I noted above they don't eat turkey either. They mostly ate Spicy Spinach Dish, which I really should make a double recipe of, and drank all the sparkling cider. At their age my Thanksgiving dinner consisted mainly of a spiced peach, which my mother served as a relish. I have faith that they will gradually become more sophisticated eaters. After all, they like oysters.

My semester is almost over -- one more week of classes, then grading -- and the kids have one more week after I do. Then they have 2.5 weeks off and I have 4 weeks off -- but it's a little more complicated than that. I found out a few days ago that I may not have any work in the spring semester. Due to low enrollment my department needs to cancel a bunch of already-scheduled classes, and they're so uncertain about how many they can really offer that they temporarily took all the classes away from all the lecturers, of which I am one. It's like being laid off, except that it's not definite yet. I won't get 3 classes, but I may get 1 or 2. Two classes means we can keep our health insurance, which is key. So I'm hoping. But I'm also very worried. It's definitely putting a damper on holiday plans and end-of-semester excitement, especially since we were having trouble managing even with me teaching 3 classes.

I've been doing some soul-searching about work: what is it that I would like to do? if I have to switch jobs, that is. It's a little late in life to start over, but I've been thinking about some of my dream jobs through the years. For example, I always thought I'd like to be a math teacher. Pretty funny, no? I think it's too late for that, though, as I've forgotten all the math I ever knew. Another idea, certainly not possible now: singer or back-up singer for a rock band. I still love to sing, though my voice is not what it was, but that ship sailed a long time ago, maybe 35 years. I've also often wanted to be a meteorologist, but again, that's a lot of learning that's probably beyond me now. Maybe it always was. As a teenager I thought I wanted to be a farmer, but that one doesn't appeal anymore. I don't have the energy. But think about it: math and meteorology, singing and farming. Why do these things have absolutely nothing to do with anything I've ever done for a living? OK, the one I'm leaving out is writing, and yes, I have always wanted to do that -- and have done it, off and on. But teaching isn't the same as doing.

I'll probably end up being a secretary somewhere. Though I'm also seriously thinking about applying at King Soopers. But you don't get benefits unless you're fulltime. And we need that health insurance. Maybe I won't lose my job after all. We'll see. As my sister says, Trump's going to get me a job, right? And then America will be great again.