Two years ago Gary and I were planning our wedding. Part of the plans included finding a teaching position closer to where we would live once we were married. So, on June 6, 2013 (a Thursday), I drove down to a school in the area we were planning to live in for an interview. To my surprise, I was offered a position teaching kindergarten before the interview was over. In my previous four years of teaching, three of them had been in kindergarten, so I was happy to accept. I explained that I would need a week off just three weeks into the school year for our honeymoon, which we had already booked (I guess we had a lot of faith that I would be able to take that week off). I held my breath while I waited for the response. The person interviewing me turned to his computer, pulled up the school calendar and entered my honeymoon in, assuring me that I would have those days off. And so, my time teaching there began in the 2013-2014 school year. Gary and I went out to lunch together that day to celebrate.
Yesterday was my last day as a teacher at that same school. I’d been out on leave through Family Medical Leave Act to spend time with Baby G since the end of March, only returning for a couple of visits with my students, but I returned on Thursday and Friday for teacher post planning days to pack my belongings.
It was bittersweet. Walking back in and seeing everyone, something that had once been so much a part of my everyday routine. Getting a cup of coffee and heading to the classroom. The excitement of summer vacation in the air. Everybody preparing to say goodbye for the summer. Only for me it wasn’t saying goodbye for summer. It was saying goodbye for years.
It all reminded me of how much I love teaching, which made me so thankful for all of the years I’ve had a job doing something I love. And it showed me that I will want to go back someday, but not anytime soon. As much as I love teaching, it doesn’t compare with spending my days with Baby G, taking care of her and our home. Seeing her smiles, hearing her learn to make new sounds, watching her eyes, wide and intent, as she discovers something new. I wouldn’t willing miss any of it. I am so blessed that I have the option to stay home with her. So many moms don’t. So, it is good bye to teaching, for now at least.
Have you had a job you truly enjoyed?
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