California, Dreamy

Saturday we got home from a fantastic trip out west. Despite the tarnishing affect of having just learned that I will soon be unemployed, the voyage was filled with friends, family, good food and superior weather (superior to the wintry mix and gale force winds of NH, that is). Jasper and Josie shine as travelers. The kept in good spirits as we navigated planes, trains, taxis, trolleys and a shuttle bus in which Jasper was thrown out of his seat before being properly belted in. We stayed most nights on the floor of David, Nancy and Charlotte's bungalow garden house in north Berkeley, just a few blocks from where we used to live. We spent time with the Halloran-Couches, the Pitt-Smith-Caldases, and the Laurisons, including Freja, who was appropriately unconscious most of the time, having been born just two weeks earlier. We made the most of what the East Bay has to offer in family entertainment, attending a children's folk concert at Ashkenaz, visiting the petting farm in Tilden, going to the hippest indoor playspace I have ever seen, and hanging out with great friends we rarely get to see. After a few days in Oakland and Berkeley we bummed some camping equipment and headed north. First to see my Great Aunt Dash, who is 92 and still running laps around most baby boomers, and my cousin MeiMei, who I haven't seen since our wedding. Then on to Muir Woods for the day, and a gorgeous camp site by the ocean for the night. Our site overlooked both Stinson Beach and San Francisco and we practically had the grounds to ourselves. Jasper conclusively declared that he wants to camp "forever." The following day we hiked in Point Reyes to Bass Lake, where Jasper insisted on stripping down and jumping in, despite the fact that lake water is cold in February, even in California. Josie dared to dip her toes, as well. We returned to the East Bay just long enough to sleep (especially Peter, who had contracted strep throat since our night on the coast), and do a load of laundry. We concluded our trip with a fun packed day in San Francisco, dodging rain storms and seeking out cheap thrills like croissants from Tartine's (okay, not so cheap) and pjs in Chinatown. Grandma Ann (Ethan's mom) put us up for the night in her little-nook-of-Heaven apartment on Bernal Hill which we climbed to catch a perfect sunset and moon rise over the great city. A perfect cap to a nearly perfect vacation.

The one thorn in our rosy week was the emotional roller coaster of having to contemplate my career, identity and life-purpose every fifteen minutes. We had room for many good conversations with friends and family, and time for Peter and I to hash out the possibilities. It was interesting to realize that we had been having the same sort of conversations when we were last in Berkeley together, fresh back from Peace Corps, not sure what we wanted to do with our lives, deciding to go in to education. California had convinced me to work with children in public schools... Could it do it again? After a week of contemplating public policy jobs, private schools, writing, work abroad, I came to the conclusion that I want to work in the public elementary school in my neighborhood and continue to teach. I am good at it. I am getting better. It's what I do. If only they would let me.

Then again, maybe we'll find a commune on the west coast and learn to make cheese. You never know what life will serve up next.