It has been a while since I last posted anything here. What’s sweet is that a couple of people noticed.
They asked where I have been, and when I would write again.
I started this blog as a creative outlet. It helped me find my passion again. I love to write, but the past couple of years I haven’t written much for enjoyment. This blog is my opportunity to write about what strikes me. It feels good that some people like to read it, too.
But the past couple of months I have been pursuing another passion of mine: teaching.
After studying part time the past several years, I earned my teacher certification last spring through Grand Valley State University. It was a big moment for me. To top it off, I was hired in the fall — the Friday before school started, to be exact — as a kindergarten teacher.
Needless to say, getting settled in my classroom and finding my way as a teacher has been a whirlwind. Most days, I come home exhausted emotionally and physically. The first week, my face hurt from talking so much. And still, by the end of every week, my throat is sore.
But it has been an amazing year, and I am so grateful for each and every day in my classroom. Each week, things get a little bit easier. My students teach me something new every day, and I can’t imagine another job I could love more.
Well, that’s not totally true. See, for the past nine years, I was a stay-at-home mom. And that’s a job that I’ll always love — a job that I’ll never let go. Although my body is somewhere else, my heart is always with my family.
(Warning: If you don’t like sappy, stop reading now.)
This year, our oldest is in third grade and our youngest is in first grade. It was the perfect time for me to go back to work. Both kids are in school full time, and it’s given me a new freedom to pursue a career outside the home.
But even with the excitement of landing my first teaching job, it’s been bittersweet.
I’ve always been there for my kids. I volunteered in their classrooms. If they were sick, I was home. Doctor’s appointments were covered. Their first steps? I saw them.
This year, when they got on the bus on the fist day of school, I missed it. I already was at work, getting my classroom ready. I’m thankful Todd was there with video camera in hand, capturing it all on tape, although it’s not quite the same when you’re not right beside the ones you love.
But I know I’m in a good place, and I’m where I need to be. I have a commitment to my classroom, and I love those children, too — all 24 of them.
The transition our family has gone through these past months has not always been easy. Without the support of Todd, Carter and Tatum, it would have been impossible.
I am learning to balance. In a sense, my family is now watching me take my first steps. Sometimes, I feel like I am a tightrope walker, just barely staying upright. I am grateful that when I look down, I have three amazing people holding the net, ready to catch me.
