Keep Moving Forward

This is one of my favorite quotes from Walt Disney and it's appropriate because I have some pretty exciting news on the career front!

Less than seven weeks ago, I had no concrete plans to return to work. I've been working part-time with the Office of Adult Education since February, and while I had been thinking about what do you for the upcoming school year, I didn't have anything specific in mind.

Then in May, I had the opportunity to return to my former work home and rejoin the fifth grade team for the remaining nineteen days of the school year. While it was admittedly a crazy time of the year, I loved being with my teammates every day!

So much so that I cancelled a planned trip to Disneyland the first weekend in June that had included a reservation to the opening weekend to Galaxy's Edge! That should tell you how much I love my teammates because when I secured that reservation a few months earlier, C and I were over-the-moon excited!

Oh, well!

It was kind of a painful decision because we'd been looking forward to that trip for quite some time, and the Galaxy's Edge reservation was icing on the cake. However, the reality is that Galaxy's Edge isn't going anywhere and we will get to see it soon enough! I also know it was absolutely the best decision for my students.

The last day of school was bittersweet because I love the teachers and I wasn't sure when I would be back to the building, but I am super excited to now report that I will be back there every day!

As the last day of school approached, the Reading Specialist position became available and after much discussion with C and my mom, I decided to apply. I obviously had come concerns about returning to work full time, as my mom's health is in a steady state of decline due to her pulmonary fibrosis. However, I'd be very close to home in case of an emergency and she has always been incredibly supportive of my career throughout my entire working life!

I interviewed with a panel of the school's staff, and let me say that it is so much more intimidating to interview with people you know than it is to interview with complete strangers! Waiting on the principal's decision was made little more challenging when I received a different job offer a few days after my interview, but when I spoke with her on the phone, I knew I'd be declining the second job offer in order to take the Reading Specialist position.

I've never held this role before, so I am both nervous and excited! I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to put my Reading Specialist endorsement to good use, as I took extra classes and did a lot of extra work to earn it while I was taking my doctoral classes. And as I continue to work on my dissertation, I'm hoping the research I've done will help to guide me in my new position because I'm looking at how Math Specialists support teachers in the classroom! Different content area, but same principles! I also know I'll learn so much from working with the amazing teachers at my school as I embark on this new challenge!

Going back to the restrictive schedule of a public school teacher means our year of awesome and flexible travel has come to an end and that is about the only downside I can think of in terms of this new adventure! Well, that and the fact I won't have an entire classroom to decorate with Disney things!

I am so grateful to have been in a position to stay home with my mom as she recovered from her surgery last summer; what a gift to have had all of this time together! The year off also came with the benefit of being home with Ginny and I will certainly miss spending my days with this beautiful face!

My Girl

Happy Tails to you!