Today is the first day of Teacher Institute Days...therefore, it is technically my first day of unemployment. I don't feel bad, really. I can honestly say that it is the first time in five years that I have not felt sick about "back to school".
After sixteen years as a Nationally Board Certified Teacher, I decided not to go back to teaching. A very beloved student of mine had passed away in a horrific accident and, after seeing his father at the funeral, realized that I was not spending time with the people most important to me: my family. I could tell you each of my students' grades and life stories, yet had never been to my own son's track meet. After much debate with my husband, I decided I needed a new job.
As luck would have it, the position I wanted opened up the following weekend. I applied, contacted my references, who were more than happy to put in a good word from me, and had already heard from the person in charge of hiring. Everything was a go.
Then tragedy struck. But that story will have to follow in November. Details later. I promise.
In any case, I find myself unemployed, and currently unable to really search for a job. As a person who has been employed since I was sixteen, this is a difficult transition. There are days I feel like the entire world is open to me- the opportunities endless. I can start a business. I can tutor. I can go back to school. I can finally redecorate the rooms in my house I don't like. I can de-tox my house of the things we have that we don't use or need. There is so much I want to do that is in front of me.
Other days I feel hopeless. It's usually on a day where one of my so-called "friends" decides that it's perfectly acceptable to yell obscenities at me, or call me names in public. Or when my former employer decides it's okay to harass me and talk about me behind my back. These days I feel like a failure. Isolated. Undefined. What exactly DO I DO?
So I am going to try something new every day of my "unemployment". This might be baking (I'm getting quite good at that), cleaning (maybe I'll post what I find in the event one of you can use it), tips on laundry or gardening, or perhaps a recommendation of a good book I've read. Not sure where the day will take me.
So come along, as I navigate this road less traveled. At least by me.
No comments:
Post a Comment