So Long Kearns Jr

So I actually did it. Really. I'm not kidding this time. I quit my job.

It feels very surreal to me at this point, that everyone else went back after Christmas break and I am still at home. I love it.

There's a new teacher standing in front of my classroom, sitting at my desk, working with my students. I hope they don't eat him alive-- the first year of teaching is hard enough without walking in during the middle of the year. But you know what? If my kids are awful to him, at least I won't have to see it or know about it. That sounds heartless, doesn't it?

I cleaned out my desk before the break and stripped the items I wanted to save off the walls. I packed my books and binders and unit plans into boxes and crates and hauled them out to the car. I said good bye to my classroom and all the memories it's held over the past 2 1/2 years and turned in my keys. I never cried once. Didn't even come close actually.

I'm glad I taught for the first half of the year. It was nice to teach part time, much less stressful, and I had a lot fewer students. I felt more balanced than before and I had more time with my family than in the past. This year I did not have a single behavior issue. No one swore at me, I never sent a child to the office, and I never wrote a referral. I was absolutely comfortable in my classroom and had clear expectations and consequences. I didn't have to spend as much time creating materials or putting together new lessons. I enjoyed myself more than in the past.

But for all of that, I am so relieved to leave and focus on my family, my home, and my health. It was absolutely the right choice and I'm so grateful that we are in a position where Casey can provide for our needs and I no longer have to work. The budget will be tighter, but we've never really been big spenders anyway. There are things that I will miss about being a teacher, and there are many things that I will never want to go back to.

Maybe I'll teach again someday. I really don't know. But I'm so content to stay at home for the moment and be with my little man. I'm too busy counting blessings to miss my job at all.