Heart, Struggles, Doors, GO!

No recipe, but a little news from my life.

This is not the post I intended to write this week. I’ve been working on another king cake recipe (this one a variation on the brioche des rois from the South of France), and I was hoping to send that to you today. Alas, as is apt to happen, various life events (both good and less good) took precedence this week, and here I am without a recipe.

I still wanted to write to you though, because routine can be good, and because I want to share some news that will most definitely affect how regularly I write and share here moving forward.

Last fall I took two courses in project management through the University of Vermont, which allowed me to gain a certificate in project management practices. Perhaps more importantly, the courses helped me put a lot of my past and current work into perspective and begin to understand what’s serving me and what just feels like busy work.

Although I went into the courses open to where they would lead, I was relatively focused on using my new skills to support nonprofit and advocacy objectives. I figured at the least, I’d have them handy for volunteer projects, but I kept my eyes, ears, and thoughts open for other opportunities.

In early December I learned of an opportunity that I simply couldn’t ignore. The Vermont Foodbank — our state’s largest hunger-relief and food distribution organization — was looking for a… project manager! As I read through the job description, I felt it would be ambitious to apply, but I decided to go for it anyway. What was there to lose? So I polished my resume, wrote a cover letter, gathered my references, and hit submit on my application.

The next day I attended a briefing on the state of food security in Vermont presented by the Vermont Foodbank and a partner education, training, and advocacy organization called Hunger Free Vermont. As I listened to the information that was being shared, I was struck by the intentionality and impeccability of the presentation and the work behind it. I was even more drawn to the open position than I had been before and waited eagerly for a response to my application.

Last week I got the call from the Equity, People, and Culture Business Partner, asking if he could set up a phone screen. The phone screen led to an interview earlier this week, and because the remaining pieces of the process came together so quickly, I won’t belabor sharing with you that I was offered the position!

I am still a bit stunned by this development, and I’m not sure what it means for the freelancing, writing, and recipe development path I’ve been navigating this past year. What I do know is that although I won’t be able to write as often as I have been, I’m not ready to abandon this newsletter. I know baking will continue to play an important role in my life, and I will most certainly still need to cook and prepare daily meals for my family. I plan to continue sharing all that with you as much as possible. Plus, I hope this new role means that I’ll be able to share more with you about hunger relief, food security, and food sovereignty as I immerse myself more in that work.

There’s so much more I could say, but I’ll leave you with a few of the lessons I learned from my situation:¹

1. Don’t be afraid to go after something you’re passionate about. Chances are, if your heart is in it, you can manifest it.

2. Celebrate your struggles as much as your successes; they’re what make you stronger.

3. Keep opening doors; it’s thrilling to see what’s behind them.

Thank you for being here, reading this far, and supporting my work. For you paid subscribers, I’m figuring out way to provide you with a little bonus that I can hopefully roll out in the next week or two.

Also feel free to share any new job advice! I’m thinking my first day will likely include sharing a baked good or two. I’m narrowing down what it might be.

Best,

Charlotte

1. I do recognize the state of privilege from which I am sharing these. There are so many reasons why these lessons won’t even be accessible to some people.