I wish everyone was as weird as me; they'd be happier!

My 16-year-old daughter, Rylee, came home today and said something that struck me.  

"Our teacher asked us to raise our hands if our parents loved their jobs. Not just loved the job, but verbalized how much they loved it. I raised my hand... I was the only one. I think you're weird, mom. I've grown up in a household where my dad is disabled and aches to work, and my mom truly, deeply loves what she does. I just assumed that was the norm. Apparently, it's not, and you are weird."

I couldn't help but laugh! If that's weird, I'm okay with it. If never feeling like you "work" is weird, I'm okay with it. Why on Earth would I have $25K in student loan debt and have worked a full-time job while attending  full-time college to have a job where I am unhappy? Why would I do something I don't love? There are far too many opportunities in America to choose a career you loathe. Let me tell you about my journey to becoming a blissfully satisfied teacher.

After I was discharged from the USMC, I was a stay-at-home  mom for about seven years. Joe worked in IT, and I was blessed to be home with our three beautiful daughters.  Things were going alright; we had enough money, and we were happy. 

Joe has always had some back issues, but they were getting worse. In 2005, when our youngest was only two, Joe had his first back surgery.  It did not go well. He ended up not being able to go back to work. I realized I had to pull the weight financially. He had supported us for years; now it was my turn.

Rylee

                                                     

Chloe

                                                            

  Ansley

I applied for a position at Home Depot because they were hiring cashiers. I had never had a job as anything other than a kitchen worker at a summer camp, and a field radio operator in the Marine Corps.  My interview went something like this...

Manager: I see you're a veteran. Thank you for your service.

Me: It was a privilege. I truly enjoyed my time in the Corps.

         Manager: We love the work ethic of our service members.  I have 

              an opening in kitchen and bath design. I think you'd do well there.

Me: I know nothing about designing kitchens or bathrooms. 

                                 Manager: Welcome aboard! Come with me.(We walk down to the HR office.)

               Manager: Kathy, meet Julie, our new kitchen designer. She's a Marine.

Ummm....okay.

I started out $3 an hour above the cashier position I applied for. I learned quickly and found I was quite gifted in the design department. In my first year, I was the top seller in the NY/NJ Metro region.  I worked 40 hour weeks while taking 12-18 credit hours in college. When I needed to change my hours for my classes, they said they couldn't spare me. I quit, and Lowe's was happy to take me on as a part time designer to accommodate my college schedule. 

I never wanted my girls to think I was unhappy. If I wasn't at work, I was in class. If I wasn't in class, I was studying. If I wasn't studying, I was sleeping. I was struggling, but I didn't want the girls to worry about me while they were worrying about their daddy's health. Designing kitchens may not have been something I thought I'd enjoy, but once I began to bring customer's dreams to life, I really did begin to enjoy it. 

 It took me 5 total years to obtain my B.S. in English Education. I had to take a couple of semesters off  for Joe's surgeries. I was one of those ignorant folks who thought teachers got summers off. I didn't realize we were only paid for 10 months and might have to supplement our incomes with 2nd jobs, tutoring, and coaching. Silly me.

My daughter isn't wrong. I do really love teaching. I do talk about it and how much I love what I do  all the time. It might be annoying to some, but I'm sure my students appreciate my love for this career. Look at them enjoying the effort put into creating their activities. They are engaged!

Searching coordinates to crack a code in an escape game

What happened to Edgar Allan Poe?

What's the mindset? Growth or Fixed?

The point is this. If you don't love what you do, maybe you should do something else. We all have to pay the bills, but we don't have to be miserable doing it. Find the good in what you do, and don't let the bad get to you. Go ahead, be weird.  I'm weird. I love my job to the point of verbal expression.

 I hope you're lucky enough to be weird too.

Back to School

It has been a crazy few weeks, and I have gotten behind on my blog. I apologize. This one won't be too long as I am busy working on this week's lessons. It is so hard to get back in the swing of things during that first week. Even though I spent the summer planning lessons, working on my classroom, attending and giving PD workshops, I still was not prepared for that first week kind of tired. 

   

It's funny how the lesson plans pan out in your mind as you put it all together. You can see the activities happening. You have your imaginary students playing your first personally created original escape game. It works beautifully in your mind. Then, you try it with real live students... well, time to tweak it :)

My new crew of 8th graders are the best! I have many younger siblings of former students. They seem, as a whole, mostly respectful and diligent. Even if they don't understand something, they don't give up! I love their enthusiasm. I haven't had a class like this since the current juniors.

 

We are getting ready to start week three in our school year. I cannot wait to update you on all of the fun projects we complete this year! If my donor's choose project gets funded, I'll be posting some amazing things we will be able to do with our passion projects! Stay tuned!

I've joined the #clearthelists movement and have posted mine. It includes dividers for the tables for testing.  If you'd like to support my classroom, I have a list on amazon as well as my Donor's Choose project.