Daily December 10

I've been getting these daily emails from Reverb 10. I thought today's prompt was considerably apropos to what has been happening in my life.

Prompt: Wisdom. What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out?

Without sounding like a broken record, I believe that the wisest decision I made this year was to change jobs.

I love teaching. I enjoy seeing the faces of my students as they learn and process what they've learned. I love the little notes they would write to me. I love the little gifts I'd get every once in a while.

BUT...there's always a BUT.

I was starting to feel the burn out. I dreaded the alarms going off in the morning. I dreaded the ringing bell that signaled the start of the day, the end of recess and the end of lunch. I relished 1:55pm because it meant the day was almost over. These were not good things to be feeling as a teacher. Teaching was not something I wanted just to tolerate. I wanted to keep loving it.

Then, an opportunity landed at my feet. I've known about this job since the beginning of August. The job didn't actually get posted until mid-September. Even then, I dragged my feet filling out the application.

WHY?!?!?

I wanted to be sure that this was something I could do. Could I leave the classroom? Could I leave the friends I've grown close to the last 4.5 years? Could I, without guilt, leave my students?

So, I prayed. Auntie Patty prayed. My friend Rosita prayed. I found it very fitting that the day of my interview happened to be the day that the traveling statue of Our Lady of Fatima came to our church. I knelt in front of our Lady and asked for guidance. If the job was meant for me, to let it happen. If not, I would be satisfied with not getting it.

Then I waited.

I got the call on November 5, 2010 while John Bryint and Jacob were making their usual ruckus in the living room. I gave notice the following Monday that my last day would be November 19, leaving a few tears behind in the principal's office.

So, here I am two weeks into my new job. I still haven't figured out exactly what my job entails. I suspect it's a bit of everything and a lot of somethings. I've questioned whether I've made the right decision...out loud, too, with my boss Elaine within in ear shot. As she said, "this is for you. Your professional development.

She's right. This IS for me.

I say, it's about time.