So sorry for the late post! I have been really busy lately getting ready for a new adventure and wanted to make sure everything was going smoothly before I announced it to the world.

Mom-no I am not pregnant.

I am, however, opening a booth at a local antique store! I am very VERY excited to finally have a little shop to call my own that I can fill with all of the things that will no longer fit in my house. I am so grateful to you as readers, cheerleaders, inspiration-givers, and friends for helping me get to this point. I don’t know that a year ago I would have been brave enough to take on this new chapter. But through writing this blog, I have seen so many others follow their dreams and been encouraged to do the same. In all honesty, I never ever thought that this would be the path I would take in life. However-now that I’m on it, it is not surprising. Does that make sense? It is both natural and unnatural at the same time. I am doing what I really love now, but letting go of my former self is difficult.

I always made very “safe” life choices- going to college, getting a professional degree in a technical field, having a career, etc. Not once did I think I’d be laid off at the age of 26 and paying student loans for an expensive degree that I no longer use. It is coming up on my 3 year anniversary of losing my job (if you did the math, yes I have been basically unemployed almost our entire marriage). I still struggle with guilt over “bait-and-switching” my husband, who thought he was marrying another professional (he is also an engineer, in case I never mentioned). In fact, both of us being engineers was one of the things that brought us together in the first place. If I am being honest, engineering never really made me happy. I guess I had this idea of it being more creative and hands on than it ultimately is for most of us. Sure there are the dream jobs: designing cars or spacecraft (I actually have a friend who is a rocket scientist). I would have settled for something other than a desk job. But, it wasn’t meant to be I suppose.

In the absence of my not-so-safe-afterall lifestyle, I resorted to doing things that made me happy like art, crafting, learning to knit, and beautifying our home. Doing these things prompted the arrival of an unexpected passion- writing.

When I was in the 6th grade, I had an English teacher (who will remain nameless) who told my mother I was a bad writer. Apparently, the teacher wasn’t impressed with my conversational style (maybe it was my bad haircut that made her hate me so?) My mother either never told me or made sure I didn’t care because I don’t remember being upset about it. It comes up now and then, like when I signed up for Honors English all throughout high school. I placed out of 1 of 2 required English credits for my college degree, so I took one creative writing class and got As on every single paper. As it turns out, there is a place in cyberspace for conversational writing (and rhyming). I don’t even know what that means, anyways. Seems sort of redundant.

So now with the opening of my shop, I feel I am finally ready to let go of my engineer self. I’m not going to explain my sob story to anyone else. I am going to start calling myself a writer. A blogger. A furniture dealer. A knitter. Anything except “I used to be an engineer, but…”

I hope if you live in the WNC area or are coming to visit Asheville, you’ll stop by my booth in Sweeten Creek Antiques.

12 Responses

  1. Bonnie

    Go for it! I have been facing major life changes this past year & have been in similar shoes as you. I am inspired by your courage & have even (just this evening) taken a jump onto a quest very different than the one I started out on 20+ years ago. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  2. Tara

    Hi Rachael – I’m a semi-new follower to your blog and I have to say I just love you. Your newest post is very exciting – congrats on your adventure and I wish you the best of luck. My husband and I were both laughing out loud at your aside to your Mom “no I am no pregnant” — this reminds us of all the times we have told my parents of exciting new things in our lives and it usually started with “no-we are not pregnant” too because we’ve had 4 kiddos. Anyways, good luck and I look forward to reading more about your newest leap!! wish I lived closer – I’d for sure stop in and shop your space, I just love your style.

    Reply
    • rachaelevans

      Tara- Thanks for your kind words! We have zero children (and neither does my brother), so my mother is quite desperate these days LOL!

      Reply
  3. ElisabethAndree

    Hello Rachael,
    Congratulations on this courageous big step and I wish you the best of luck. I admire you and I think you so right. If I would live in the neighborhood I would certainly drop by:)

    Reply
  4. Kayla

    Congrats Rachael!!! That is very exciting, and your new adventure will be something that you enjoy doing. Wishing you the best of luck, wish I lived closer!! 🙂

    Reply
  5. alison drysdale

    Rachael, so excited for you! It’s so inspiring to see how far you’ve come – a hobby into a passion into a new career. Being in a similar boat, I think I can finally let go of my “former journalist self” as well.

    Best of luck at the booth, wish I lived closer to check it out!

    Reply

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