So, after eleven years as a stay-at-home mom, and fourteen years away from my own classroom, I am going back to teach Kindergarten. And I start Monday. And I interviewed yesterday. So to say this has been a whirlwind decision is an understatement.

I wasn’t actively looking for full-time work. I was perusing occasionally, and have done some part-time work in recent years, but this was an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up. I will be working with one of my best friends, at a school fifteen minutes away, in a fantastic district. The administration has been super encouraging and understands the quick turnaround needed and the team is willing to support me in a way that makes this the perfect job to throw my hat back in the ring.

So what does that mean for SAHMmelier? Well, I guess, for starters, the name is a bit of a misnomer, isn’t it?

It means that I will still enjoy learning and tasting wines, introducing smaller producers, and sharing stand-outs. But the frequency and length may not be what it has been, at least during the school year. After all, I will be teaching the ACTUAL ABCs, not the acronym against Chardonnay. It means that my creative and verbal juices will be flowing all day and may be a little parched in the evenings.

Changing algorithms on social media, shorter attention spans in general, less time to read for many has lead to a decline in views and responses on my blog. I think Instagram posts and similar brief reviews get more reach these days anyway. So, the blog posts will be reserved mainly for stories and general pondering and more direct “reviews” will likely be in shorter format social media posts. I still have stories stacked up in the queue that deserve more attention and I will get to those. However, the timelines for completion may be stretched.

Over the last eight years, this blog has been an amazing outlet for connecting and creating and I am not ready to let it go. But I am ready to expand my influence. Now, the “consumers” will be much shorter and not of legal drinking age. But my hope is that the impact is longer lasting.

So, cheers to new beginnings and changes and new levels of fatigue. Teaching with my own children in my mid-40s is likely going to be more physically challenging than it was when I began in my early 20s. But, just like the vines that struggle, I am hoping to produce some better quality fruit in my life, and theirs.