Apparently you knew something I didn’t know and you were secretly preparing me for it. I imagine I owe you a “thank you.” Eleven years ago I was preparing to start my career in the ever-changing world of education. I graduated with my BA in Spanish and certification in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from a small liberal arts college. I was ready to take on whatever was thrown my direction; I mean it is what I waited for my entire life!
When I was a little
girl I longed for two things: my own classroom and to be a mom (obviously way
off in the future). I knew one was in
the cards- my own magical place where I would teach my heart out, inspire
children, and mold little people who loved learning (especially Science) as
much as I did. As for the other, well those
chances were slim to none according to almost every doctor and specialist I ever
saw, so why focus on it when I could devote 100% to my teaching. Excellent, I no longer had to share myself
between two dreams.
I worked in an urban district in Pennsylvania teaching
Pre-Kindergarten, 3rd and 4th grade over a 5-year
span. I took on other responsibilities
too; I had the spare time and energy to do so!
I taught both the before and after school programs, summer school, night
school at the high school level (not really sure what I was thinking that
year), and I was a homebound instructor for kids who were medically excused
from school and needed an in-home teacher.
Life couldn’t get much better career-wise.
Needing a challenge, I moved to Virginia where I taught in a
larger urban district and completed not one, but two master’s degrees from two
different universities simultaneously. Again,
I devoted everything to teaching; taking on leadership roles in the school building,
teaching after school and through the summer, and facilitating Science programs
at a local museum and zoo. I began
exploring new avenues in education; writing project proposals and seeking out
grant money to find them for my students.
With every success, came less hours for sleep and more time
to focus on making a difference.
Teaching truly became my life! I
would stay late at school teaching the afterschool program, helping with family
nights, analyzing data and trying to find ways I can move my learners along and
build upon their successes, talking to parents about the things they needed to
hear, delivering forgotten homework assignments to doorsteps, and anything else
I could do to make that little difference in one life.
Sure, my days were long, mornings were early; caffeine
became a good friend of mine and so did the lack of sleep; worrying about principal
observations, lessons going smoothly, getting yet another new student, planning
the perfect field trip, parent-teacher conferences, kids having breakfast/lunch
money and anything else on a teacher’s plate.
My family would always tell me to slow down, take a break and stop
spreading myself thin, but you were preparing me for something bigger,
something I deserved.
Shortly after meeting my husband, we were living together
and engaged. Then, the news came; the
real reason coffee you made coffee my hobby and my alarm clock beep earlier for
so many years. Past 11 years, you were
preparing me for the unthinkable, the dream I forgot about because of my career,
the dream I was told wouldn’t be fulfilled, the dream that meant the most to
me, but cared little about revisiting; we were expecting our first child!
And now I thank you. Thank
you for teaching me to appreciate every moment I am given; even when I am lying
awake worrying about what will be. Thank
you for teaching me to sing when I do everything- if I am awake, I am a singing
a tune, scratch that, I think I sing in my sleep now. Thank you for making me throw away the notion
of having a perfectly tidied home round the clock; let’s just put it this way,
we have a 6.5 foot teepee in our living room- I will let your imagination run
wild with the rest. Thank you for
temporarily replacing my teacher bags with a diaper bag, snack bag, and a toy
bag. Thank you for preparing me for my
toughest challenges and the unknown that comes before me with every new moment. Thank you for making me appreciate the
hundreds of parents I worked with over the past 11 years and for teaching me
patience, compassion, and determination when I wasn’t sure of my own decisions. Thank you for teaching me that the smallest
achievement, like picking up a waffle piece with a fork, should be celebrated
and not go left unnoticed. Thank you for
teaching me how to work to constantly improve myself. Thank you for teaching me about best practices
in the classroom so I can instill those practices at home. Thank you for teaching me how to plan for the
most beneficial field trip and real-life learning experience I could offer my
students and now my son. Thank you for
showing me what it meant to multi-task even when I wasn’t sure what direction I
was headed. Thank you for teaching me
that although I did my best today, tomorrow I will do better. Thank you for teaching me not to take a break
from what I am doing because that might just be the time I miss something I am
destined to do, see, or feel. Thank you
for showing me anything is possible!
Sincerely,
Full-time teacher gone full-time mommy/part-time teacher
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