My wife just quit her job.

Last Friday was her final day working with kindergarten students, a job she started once our own kids were both in school. My schedule as a freelance photographer has always been unpredictable and it worked well for us, knowing she was on the same schedule as our kids.

Now both our children are grown and off to college. A Peace of My Mind has grown, too, and the exhibit and speaking schedule has me on the road frequently. In fact, the project grew faster than I expected and the past year has had me away from home…and Karen…more often than we both liked.

So, we faced a choice. Turn down exhibits, continue to spend too much time apart, or free up Karen’s time to travel with me and continue to expand the ways A Peace of My Mind can engage with communities.

We chose option 3.

It’s both exciting and unnerving. You don’t get rich working as a kindergarten teacher’s aide, but you do get health insurance. There are a lot of unknowns about how this next chapter will unfold. Will the exhibit schedule stay full? Will we tire of life on the road? How often will we see our friends?

There are questions, but there is also a call. I started A Peace of My Mind in 2009 because I saw a way to use my photography and storytelling to help connect people…to build understanding. And now I see that the need is greater than ever. With every exhibit and every program, we learn new ways to connect with communities. With every conversation, I see hope.

Our new book is out. Our new exhibit will be delivered next week. There is work to do.

There are plenty of questions about how this will play out. There is no question that we are willing to try. I’ve always said that working on this project has been like walking down a foggy path, where you can see two steps ahead of you, but no farther. It’s only when you take those two steps that more of the path is revealed, and as long as I can see those next two steps, I’ll keep walking. I’m just glad that now I get to walk it with Karen, too. Follow us here and on social media to see where this path leads.

This is a leap of faith. But it always has been.