No, not that sort of outing! Tom and I are just fine. And I’m not pregnant. So let’s just get those things out of your head right away.

But there are some big changes afoot.

When you stay at home with your children and your babies suddenly aren’t babies anymore, you begin to think about what’s next. I had always assumed that my role in the business would ramp up. I would go back to creative endeavors while sipping coffee, which sounded delightful.

Except it also kinda didn’t. We all know any job has its hiccups and paperwork and angry clients and blahblahblah. So there’s that. But above all else, I realized that after eight years of being immersed in the world of children, I couldn’t imagine that not being a part of my life.

This is a common thread in my life.

When filling out college applications, I spent hours agonizing about whether to check the box for graphic design or early childhood education.

In my early twenties, when I found myself deeply in debt, I got a part-time job working with children in a residential facility.

Before I got pregnant, I completed half of a Master’s Degree in Art Education (sadly, the seven year rule declares all this work moot).

So I started thinking about Life After Babies. And very quietly I thought to myself that maybe, just maybe, I wanted to be a preschool teacher.

I started researching my options and the different methodologies. Ultimately, I decided to begin a distance learning program, training in Montessori for ages 3-6. It would be a one year program of intensive work, and by the end of it, I felt I would know whether or not teaching preschool seemed like something I would like to do.

And I loved it.

I was fascinated by the science and the theory and all of the ideas which just made so much sense. But more than anything, it all felt so familiar. This is how my own parents raised me, in an environment full of amazing choices, all of which served to support my growth.

I began this program last year, and am due to wrap up in the next few months. It has been such an amazing experience, and, more than anything, has validated what I always thought the preschool years should be.

But none of you knew about this, because I told almost no one. Why? There are a few reasons. The first is, quite simply, because I began the process as an exploration. I wasn’t quite sure if it was what I wanted to do, and while I was exploring it, I wasn’t quite ready to share. A bit like a caterpillar in the chrysalis stage, I just needed a little quiet time to think things through.

The other reason is because I live in a small town. And like a tight family, everyone knows everyone else’s business. I mostly love this, but I also knew the immediate question everyone would ask is, “So what are you going to do with the degree? Where are you going to teach?” I didn’t have an answer to those questions, and I didn’t want them to be left open for speculation.

But I have some answers now.

I adore preschoolers. I love who they are, and am amazed at how they think. I feel they are capable of huge things, far more than much of our culture often gives them credit for.

This fall I will be teaching the first Montessori preschool class at my children’s school. It is a bit sooner than I anticipated going back to work, but when an opportunity presents itself, sometimes you have to take the leap.

I’m so excited, I can hardly stand it. I can’t wait to see what this next leg of the journey holds.

(Pictured is the iconic Pink Tower.)