Transitions

Wow, is it possible that I haven't written a new blog post since January? That's surprising. I've meant to write many times, but somehow never got around to it. I blame Twitter. And Facebook. And LinkedIn. And... For me, personally, I've always said that I feel a need to communicate and share and write for others. Blogging was (and still is) great for that. And when I was on the Board of Education in Ridgewood, I felt compelled to do it on a regular basis. Once that obligation to communicate with the community and with voters was lifted (aka I was defeated in my re-election attempt), I found that microblogging via Twitter (I'm @lauriegood1) and posting on Facebook seemed to fulfill my need to reach out. (I'm pretty active in those forums, if you want to follow me!) Also, during this same time period, much of my freelance copywriting work switched to blogging and social media sharing on behalf of various clients. Truth is, at the end of a long day of writing for others, it can be hard to get energized to write some more, when there isn't a deadline or curious voter or marketing plan involved.

Lots of changes are in the air now, so I'm not sure where this blog will go. I'd like to think I'll find the energy and desire to write more often. There are certainly things to write about -- whether it be personal experiences, comments on the goings-on of Ridgewood, thoughts on education and public schools...I certainly have plenty of opinions and thoughts about all those things. I'm constantly reading about them, that's for sure.

Over the past few month, my lens has shifted slightly due to the following:

My son leaves for college next week at Penn State University. I am so excited for him and also terrified by all the scary things that can happen when a fearless 18-year-old boy is cut loose from daily parental controls (as loose as they are). He is an amazing kid, very smart, good head on his shoulders...I'm sure things will be fine, but I'm still going to find it very hard to sleep for awhile.

My daughter began her teaching career this week. She is teaching at an elementary charter school in New York City, in Harlem. It's exciting to realize that she has actually realized one of her childhood dreams, to be a teacher. I know this year is going to be hard, awesome, challenging, eye-opening and, ultimately, fulfilling. I am thrilled to get an inside look at the life of a new teacher as well as life inside an NYC charter.

My husband recently started a new job in Chicago. This is a huge, positive career move for him, a great position at an impressive & successful company, so when the offer came through, he had to take it. The plan is for me to join him in Chicago in the spring/early summer next year. Until then, he will commute home when he can, I'll fly out there when I can. It's going to be a challenge, but we'll figure it out.

All of this, of course, will end with us leaving Ridgewood in approx. May/June (by our best estimate). That's truly sad and unfortunate on many levels. I'll write more about that transition in the future (the near future, I promise!). And I'll have plenty to say in the meantime about Ridgewood politics, and Ridgewood schools, with my view from the "outside."

For now, maybe my next post will talk about teaching, based on my daughter's experience with her long job search and starting her new job.