An Ocean of Emotions

Tonight, as I prepared for bed, a wave of emotions flooded my mind and heart.

I cannot help but to compare these emotions with those that I felt exactly two years ago.

August 25, 2011 - The last day of my pregnancy!  Jackson was breech, so I knew that I would be going in for a scheduled c-section in the morning.  I had prepared all summer for this day, but I was frantically making last minute preparations for this little bundle that was about to make his appearance.  I had prayed for confidence to face the surgery and to enter motherhood with a sense of peace.  I prayed for Jackson to be completely healthy and have a sweet spirit!  I was amazed at the sense of love I had for this little man that I had not yet met!  I was terrified!  This was uncharted territory for me, and, anyone that knows me knows, I do not do well with the unknown!  I could not fall asleep because I knew how much my life was about to change.  And, looking back, I realize that I really had no idea how much change would take place!  I was constantly thinking about the things I needed to teach this little boy!  I was amazed that God would trust ME to take care of this precious child, and I knew that I had a huge task at hand!  I was excited to meet Jackson - to see what he would look like, to hear what he would sound like, and to find out what he could teach me!

Fast Forward.....

August 25, 2013 - The night before I begin teaching 3rd grade!  I spent the last few hours frantically making preparations for the first day of school.  I want to make sure that everything goes smoothly!  I have prayed over the list of students that will enter my classroom.  I have prayed for confidence to stand before these young minds.  I have prayed for their eyes and ears to be open to learning from their teachers and their peers.  I am amazed at the sense of love I have for these students.  I know the world they live it - it is dirty, scary, dangerous, and lonely!  While I have taught before, there are a million unknowns with this new adventure!  The students I will be teaching this year are in 3rd grade (testing).  These students are bilingual (and I am not)!  These students come from low socioeconomic families!  All of that is scary, but so exciting at the same time!  There is such an opportunity for me to learn from my students, and these kids will want to be at school every day!  They will feel safe at school.  They know that they are cared for at school!  They have a strong desire to learn!  I cannot sleep because I know how much these young students will change my life!  I have prepared my lessons for the first week and an outline to follow for the first six weeks grading period, but there are so many other lessons I feel as though I should teach them!  They need to know that I believe in them!  They need to learn that they CAN succeed, and they WILL achieve their goals if they put their minds and hearts to it!  They need to know that the teachers at their school care about them and their academic and social success!  I am amazed that God, and their parents, would trust ME to take care of their precious children!  It is a huge task!  I am so excited to meet them - to see how they gel as a class, to see how they work together to help each other succeed, and to find out what lessons they will teach me!

Tomorrow is a HUGE day!  I will be the mother of a TWO year old!  AND I will start a new adventure of teaching third grade!

Time flies by so fast!  I cannot believe how much my life has changed in the last two years!

And I cannot believe how blessed I am by the people in my life...  Especially my little man and the students I will be meeting in the morning!

Jackson - Mommy loves you!  I always will!  I care about your safety and well-being!  I encourage you to take risks and never be afraid to make a mistake!  I will always support you, and I promise to help you learn as much as I can teach you!  Always remember that you can come to me for a shoulder to cry on, for advice, for someone to listen!  I won't judge you, rather I will understand and be compassionate to your situations!  I cannot wait to see the amazing things your life has in store for you!

Students - I cannot wait to meet you!  I already care about your safety and well-being!  I encourage you to take risks and never be afraid to make mistakes!  I will always support you, and I promise to help you learn as much as I can teach you!  Always remember that you can come to me for a shoulder to cry on, for advice, for someone to listen!  I won't judge you, rather I will understand and be compassionate to your situations!  I cannot wait to see the amazing things this year, and your life, has in store for you!

{My Journey to Now}

I have wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember.  When I was a little girl, I would make my entire family participate in make-believe school.  I like to believe that they enjoyed it...

I had some amazing {and some not-so-amazing} teachers in my K-12 school career.  And I remember what made each one amazing {or not-so-amazing}!  I have always been committed to becoming a teacher that my students will remember for my amazing-ness!

I entered college with the goal of becoming a teacher, and {with a few bumps along the way} graduated in May 2011 with a degree in education {and certified to teach preschool through 6th grade}...

One of my {favorite} bumps... My son, Jackson!  I got pregnant December 2010, and was pregnant during my last semester in college!  During that time, I was also working as a full-time tutor at the elementary school where I completed my student teaching!  Jackson was born in August 2011 {the week that school was starting}!  I chose not to attempt to apply and interview for teaching jobs during the summer, and I was so {extremely} lucky to become a nanny for a family friend.  I was able to bring Jackson to work while I watched the 3 wonderful kiddos in that family!  {And those kiddos LOVED Jackson!}

The following summer, I worked at my church as a volunteer coordinator for the children's ministry.  During that time, I truly gave my career over to God!  I knew that my volunteer coordinator job would be over at the end of summer, and I had been sending out resumes {and applying for jobs online} like a crazy lady!  On the last day of work {about 3 weeks after school started}, I was feeling a little stressed and concerned that I had not found a job.  {I had not even been called for an interview...}  We went into our staff meeting, and {since it was a church} we had a prayer time.  I huddled with a group of close friends, and I asked for them to pray for guidance on my career.  They prayed for me with such kind words {such a beautiful, tear-filled time}!

When I returned to my desk, I had a voicemail from HR at District P!  They wanted to set up an interview for the following day!  {Eeeeek!}  I went in for the interview {such a great experience}, and I walked out with a job!  {Double Eeeeek!}  I was their newest 1st grade teacher!  I started the next day {setting up my room}!  Less than a week later, I had my own class of first graders!

I worked with an amazing team... My kiddos learned so much... And they grew!!!  It was such a great experience!  I learned more in that one year than I did in my entire college career!

At the end of the year, I began looking for a new job.  {closer to home, more money, etc.}

I was called in for an interview with a school in District M!  It was for a 1st grade position, and everything went great!  After several weeks, they called and offered me the job!  I accepted {obviously}!  BUT...

A week later, they called to tell me that they were going to continue interviewing!  {UGH!}  About a week and a half later, they sent me a letter {in the mail} telling me that they had selected a different candidate!  {huge bummer}  I didn't completely understand, but I didn't really have time to beat myself up over it!  I immediately started applying for jobs online and emailing resumes to principals.  {There was only about 6 weeks until school started...}

{Mid-July}  I had an interview scheduled for Monday at 4pm.  I had two interviews scheduled for Wednesday {11am and 1:30pm}.  I was excited!  On Monday at 2pm, the secretary called to reschedule my interview to Wednesday at 9:30am!  Now I had THREE interviews in one day!  {gulp!}  On Tuesday afternoon, I received a call to set up another interview for 7:30am Wednesday!  {double gulp!}

Wednesday started VERY early!  My first interview was with District G at an alternative education center.  I would be THE elementary teacher - I would teach kindergarten through 5th grade every day to students that were sent to an alternative school due to behavior!  {yikes!}  The interview went well, and the principal told me that he would be making a decision by the end of the week.

The second interview was at a school in District D {this was the rescheduled interview...}!  I was lead to the interview room {where the school's leadership team was having a meeting}.  The principal told me not to feel nervous or intimidated {yeah right!}, but it went really well!  I loved having all of the teachers at the meeting ask me questions.  I enjoyed seeing how they interacted with each other and administration!  One of the teachers gave me a {short} tour of the building, and when I came back to the interview room I was offered a teaching position!  {3rd grade science/social studies/reading}  I accepted the position {but didn't sign a contract}!

The third interview was with a preparatory school {totally new experience}!  I interviewed for a 5th grade math position.  It was a different kind of interview - they actually had me teach a sample lesson {that I had 10 minutes to prepare}!  I thought it went well, but I didn't feel like this was a place for me!  They told me they would call and inform me of their decision by the end of the week!

My final interview of the day was for a different school at District D!  The school was super nice {brand-spankin'-new}, and the principal was lovely!  She told me that she was going to check my references, but she wanted me to take her 5th grade position.  She said that she would call with an official offer!

The next 24 hours was a blur...  As I was driving home, the fourth principal called and offered me the position!  I verbally accepted {because nothing would be official with any job until I signed a contract}!  Thursday morning, the HR contact from the prep school called and offered me their position.  I told them {thank you very much, but} I had already accepted an offer with a different school!  That afternoon, the principal from the alternative school in District G called to offer me the elementary teaching position.  I told him the same thing {I had already accepted a position elsewhere}!

{OMG!  4 interviews in one day... And 4 OFFERS!!!!!!!}  I couldn't believe it!

I finally decided to pursue the 3rd grade position {from the second interview}!  I have since completed all of my paperwork, and I will begin attending new teacher training on Monday!

I have been working on getting things ready for my classroom, and {hopefully} I can go up there early on Monday morning to take some {before} pictures of my classroom!

Jackson has his first day at preschool on Monday...  {The center is amazing... I know he will learn a bunch and he will have so much fun!}

Now you know how I got here...