The Big News

Ladies and Gentleman,

Gather ‘round. I have a few very important announcements. No, we are not growing by two feet or 10 toes. No sonograms hatching from Easter Eggs or pregnant paperclips. Not “Red, White & Due.” No cute poems or dogs in sweaters or whatever cute trendy baby announcements say these days.

For those of you who just clicked on this link to find out the big news, I’ll cut to the chase and give it to you in a short, quick, numerical format.

1.     Aaron Beasley landed his dream job with Aruba Networks HPE.

2.     The Beasley family will be relocating to the city of Brookhaven in Atlanta, GA.

3.     Jordon Beasley just received her acceptance letter to Mercer University to get her Ph.D. in Counselor Education & Supervision beginning in August.

4.     Young Beasley is getting tubes in his ears. This isn’t really crazy news, but I didn’t want him to be left out. He also got into a great preschool in Brookhaven. Young’s news is boring.

Now, for those of you who are extremely interested in how all of these crazy things came to pass, I will give you the full run down. Quite honestly, I’m still trying to wrap my head around it so maybe writing it will be good for me too. This is going to sound strange, but I had this really strong intuition that something BIG was going to happen when I turned 30. I just knew it. I was making all sorts of guesses about what was to come. All of my 30something friends are on Round 2 of babies, and I am so, so happy for each and every one of them. I am honestly shocked and in awe of how amazing you are. You can handle 2 kids in diapers? That is wild. I can’t even get Young to eat a solid vegetable. Heck, I can’t get him to eat a chicken nugget. You are prepared to breastfeed again? I sometimes can’t even manage to hold Young’s hand in a parking lot. You are a rock star, but I’m just not. I am so happy that you are pregnant and your family is growing. I am even happier that mine isn’t. I am just now, 2 ½ years later, starting to feel like a real person and not just “Ma-Ma.” So, essentially, I prayed that whatever “BIG” thing was in store for me, it would not be a baby.

As it turns out, the news was far bigger than I could have ever expected. I was hoping for a nice vacation. Maybe a boat or a mountain house… No such luck. Instead, Aaron Beasley lands a new job. Not just any job. A job that he has been talking about for years. A job located in Atlanta. Not just any job in Atlanta, a job that requires us to live inside the perimeter- ITP for all the true ATLiens (see 1996 release by Outkast for more information). Little Jordy Beasley is moving to the A. Now, this is already big news. I have never lived out of state. I’ve been in South Carolina for 30 years.

If you know me, at all, then you know that I’m not just some sweet little wifey following Aaron around with a smile and some baked goods. No, no my friend. Again, I’m a hustler. So, when I found out this big, amazing, terrifying, heartbreaking news was actually a thing, I did what every Hustler would do. I asked myself “What’s in this for me?” Then I referred to my Bold Bangs, Bold Dreams and resolved to make it happen. Dream Big! Live Bold! That’s what I’ve been preaching. Big Dream #1: Start Writing: CHECK. Big Dream #2: Pursue a Ph.D. I hope that you can see the importance of writing down your goals and dreams now. 42% more likely to happen!. I began to researching Ph.D. options in the Atlanta area. I looked at Georgia State, UGA, Mercer. Mercer was actually still accepting applications for their Ph.D. program in Counselor Education and Supervision and they have a Center for the Study of Narrative. You don’t know what that means, but I LOVE IT. So, I applied. Just like that. Didn’t think another minute about it. I just went for it. Live boldly. The next day, I got a call from the Admin Assistant letting me know that the application window would close in 5 days. All of my material- letters of rec, CV, test scores, and transcripts needed to be submitted in 5 days! Holy smokes. I rallied. Rallied harder than I’ve ever rallied. They gave me an interview. I bought a power suit. I walked in and spoke openly about my passion, my research interests, my bold dreams and big plans. I received a call on Saturday evening at 6pm informing me that I had been accepted. You can call me Dr. Beasley. Don’t worry about waiting a whole 4 years. I will need everyone to address their Christmas cards to Dr. & Mr. Beasley to avoid any confusion.

I am very sad. Ask my MES faculty. I straight up ugly cried in our meeting today after my principal announced it. UGLY. Real ugly. I’m embarrassed, but I’m also just sad. It’s the right thing for my family. I know that, but that does not mean that I’m happy about it. At the very least it will give me great material for future blog posts like these catchy titles: “I’m 30 & Homeless” or “I’m now a Mother Living with My Mother.” “Riches to Rags: A Cautionary Tale.” This blog really escalated quickly.