Powell's Julie and Julia

OK, so this book isn't literary particularly, nor is it the story a paragon of virtue. I mean, the four-letter words abound. But there's something to it, to Julie's project.

As I wrote in some other post, this is the story of Julie Powell's year long project of cooking through all of Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, in just a year.

But what I've been thinking is that maybe I need a project (as though the last three years of dissertation weren't project enough). But more importantly, it's never too late to learn more about myself and more about contentment.

Apparently Child did not marry until her mid or late 30s, in an age when it must have been difficult for women to find spouses once they'd reached 30. (Have I mentioned that I'll be 31 in March). But also, at 37, and only then, did Child learn to cook and find her vocation. This makes me hopeful. As much as I love teaching and many, many aspects of my life, I still want to believe that I have other options. And I want to believe in the possibility that maybe I'll find a spouse. I don't know. But Powell, by the end of her project, realizes that she has options too. She doesn't have to stay at the crappy job she hates. There are other ways she can choose to live. Maybe the endings of things (of relationships, projects, jobs) are what help us to realize this (see previous post.)

I guess I just need to believe that I'm not stuck.