The third year

I mentioned in my last post that I felt like the husband and I finally hit our stride in this third year in Texas and we really have in so many ways. Professionally speaking, I have a ridiculous amount of stuff going on right now - which is all very very good and requiring a bit of an adjustment on our part!

• About a month ago I was asked to assist the administration of our department with various activities. I have been involved in different aspects of running the department and our medical clinic. It has been a nice addition to the work I am currently involved in, which at times can be really monotonous. It has also been challenging in a completely new way because I am primarily involved in finance and management activities of which I have no experience. I am really loving the challenge of it and grateful for the change of pace!
• At about the same time, I was offered the program director position at The Grief Resource Center (TGRC) where I volunteered for a few months this spring. I accepted the position and officially started two weeks ago. TGRC was hit pretty hard in the recession and right now I am only working one day a week with them. With several efforts in the works to increase their income, the hope is that I am able to add more days next year.
• Of course, I still have my main job, which accounts for 80% of my time. I will be promoted to faculty as of July 1! This is really exciting for many reasons but I'm especially psyched about getting an office! One other bonus of being promoted to faculty is that I am now able to participate in grants at the faculty level and I have been written into a new grant as a co-investigator and the project evaluator (stats stuff). As far as grant/university work goes, that is a great step for me.
• In addition to those experiences, I have been offered one other position that is based on grant funding. We just heard last week that the department received the funding and so I should know more about what that might mean for me soon.

Describing all of that makes my head spin a little. After what felt like a really long period of uncertainty and an experience in a job that is less than fulfilling, things are finally moving in the right direction. With any change, it has also been a little challenging. After two and half years of the same schedule, adding lots of hours all at once has resulted in a little bit of chaos at our house! But we're making it work and I think things will start to settle down in the next few weeks just in time for us to start the bathroom remodel! Oh goodness! :)