Skip to main content

Dilemma: Bloom Where You Are Planted or No?

I've been a fan of that quote for some time: Bloom Where You Are Planted.

You know, make the most of where you are, be all you can be, etc., etc.

But I'm at a real crossroads these days regarding this adage.  I'll be graduating soon with an Associate's in Culinary Arts.  If there's food in the place, that means I can work there.

However, I can't really neglect my other experiences as well...high school and college teacher, writer...I mean, surely there's got to be some job out there that marries those things together, right?

The closer and closer I get to leaving for my internship (little over a month to go), the more I think about what I'm going to do when I come back.  And, honestly, the answer is?  I don't really know.

To illustrate the point, with my school and work schedules being fairly open right now, I contemplated going out for lunch today.  But...here were my options (in an Iowa town of 11,000 people):

*Two Chinese buffet-type places
*A Mexican restaurant (currently under inspection after a recent kitchen fire)
*A mediocre BBQ place
*Two family "homestyle" restaurants
*Three "casual fine dining, sit-down" restaurants (the newest one being my current place of employment)
*The grocery store that contains a Chinese and Italian Express, not to mention a soup and salad bar
*Two pizza places
*Seven fast-food restaurants (two of them being a Subway)

In the end, I opted for staying home and making a Garden Minestrone soup for lunch...and it was good, don't get me wrong...but sometimes, it's just nice to sneak out for a nice lunch when your kids are in school.  And, feeling like it's the sameoldsameold for choices is disheartening.

And circling back to where the blog entry started, I start wondering what it would be like to live in or near a big city where I would have access to many lunchtime spots...and different and unique ones, at that.  And I begin to daydream, nay, fantasize about moving.  Immediately, though, I feel a sense of guilt and disloyalty...why don't I bloom where I'm planted?  Why don't I create something amazing right here in this town where I live?

Why, indeed?  The road ahead will be paved with difficult decisions.

Comments

  1. Becky BrownMarch 19, 2014 at 2:05 PM

    Sometimes, the most terrifying the thing the world is knowing that you can have and do anything.

    I think you made a wise choice with the minestrone. However, you did overlook the bakery, which would have been a very solid choice.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

(She) Blinded Me With...Citrus

Excuse my attempt at tying today's blog entry with an iconic Thomas Dolby song.  What a terrible pun-ishment. Har har har. So, we're on the backside of Winter Vacation/Christmas Break/Holiday Hiatus here.  The kids return to school tomorrow, the freshman and I start back to our respective colleges next Monday. The clock is ticking and suddenly, I am whipped into frenzy to Get Work Done.  I suspect this phenomenon happens to many, many educators who try to avoid that panic-stricken night before they go back to work. And believe me when I say, I had the deepest, most earnest of intentions to write lesson plans, write quizzes, and generally prepare for the restart of my classes next week.  Like, really. And then...I was distracted by...citrus.  This happened. Okay, so....the lemons on the far right are no big deal.  They're available year-round.  But Meyer lemons...MEYER...I only find around here in the winter.  I first read about them i...
Post a Comment
Read more

In Which I Suspect I Have Latent Tendencies...Much Like The Hulk, Or Similar

I find in most normally functioning families, the members have a distinguishing role or legacy or skill of some kind. Like, he's the smart one.  Or, he's the religious one.  Or...she's the glue that helps the fam together.  Or, she's the savvy one, so she's the Power of Attorney. In my family, that system went something like this: My dad was The Dad.  Cantankerous, crotchety, and especially tight with daughters' curfew times.  Also, not a fan of driving in Big Cities. My mom was the long-suffering, patient, reserved one. My brother was the baby, the one who got away with murder, the namesake, and also, Frosty Hoarder. Me?  My legacy?  The Ruiner of Remote Controls.  No lie.  Although I've repressed the memories, my parents claim I destroyed at least two remotes in my tenure as Child Under The Roof.  Remote #1: milk spillage; Remote #2: applesauce spillage. So, now you see why my younger brother was the favorite. Anyway, t...
1 comment
Read more

Spaghetti Cake

Yes. You read that right.  Keep reading, friends, it's about to get good. Photo by Brent Nelson...who doesn't quite know about shadows and things in photography. Photo by your trusty author, who doesn't quite know about taking knockout food pictures. So, the caboose (Elliot) was in charge of meals this weekend...as part of his requirement for one of his Boy Scout badges.  Even though we'd be eating meals easy for a 12-year-old to put together (usually not healthy), I was totally ready to hand over the reins for the weekend. Saturday night's dinner was supposed to be simple.  Spaghetti.  But then, I remembered I had Justin's Chapple's Mad Tips article for Pasta Bundt Loaf .  I handed that over to the Boy Scout...and things just got awesome. The ingredients here seem to be a cross between those of a lasagna and an alfredo.  One pound of spaghetti noodles is cooked, and to which a bunch of cheese, milk, eggs, and seasonings are added.  All...
Post a Comment
Read more