Jumpin' Off the Edge

As I awake today, reality is starting to set in. The adrenaline rush of the decision to resign with no job has subsided as I think about the last two days of goodbyes. Packing should have been taking place. It wasn’t. Instead, I was assuring parents that their children would be fine without me. “But you are the heart and the soul of the middle school,” they kept saying. In reality, the four of us that made up the team were the magic of it all. A team that I can honestly say is the best team I have ever worked with in all my years of teaching: Scarlet, Mickey, and Jed. We were there for each other, and they continued to be there for me throughout my struggle contemplating what to do. They supported me in my ultimate decision to leave. When I handed in my letter of resignation, they were with me (Scarlet in spirit, the boys in the flesh) so I wouldn’t have to be alone. As the last of my stuff was being packed, Mickey turned to me and said, “You know this means you aren’t going to b...

I did it! After months of agonizing, I quit my job. I have no safety net. I have no 'sure thing' waiting for me. I am going to find my way. WE are going to find our way. For this does not just involve me. It involves my whole family. For months I have been agonizing what to do about my job. I began looking when the first inkling of trouble began. Well before Tony, my husband, lost his job – a nice way of saying, “fired.” After he was terminated, it was only my income. The inner turmoil began. I set my feet and refused to move even as I was being pushed out the door screaming and sobbing, “Get me out of here!” All the while, my husband quietly supported me in whatever my decision. I wrote emails to friends and family describing the drama in my life. [I will post these if there is interest.] So many people advising me to stay until I had something else. To have a steady income. I didn’t owe anybody anything. But I did. I might not ‘owe’ the new teacher and the students,...