Last February, my superintendent called me into one of my principal’s offices to tell me they were eliminating my (gifted and talented/enrichment teacher in three towns ) position and that I would not have a job in that district after June 30th. At the time I felt relief, shock, devastation, fear and grief and I still had to work the rest of the school year.
So I took a lot of sick days and with the help of Twitter, this blog, yoga, my dog, family and a few close friends I managed to make it through the school year – feeling mortified and so uncomfortable as everyone expressed how unfair it was and their sorrow to see me leave.
I am now officially entering my seventh month of unemployment-
I have taken the rare opportunity to reflect and discovered a few things I wanted to share-
- Time is a luxury that should NOT be taken for granted
- I have spent so much less and appreciated what I have so much more
- There will never be enough money
- It makes my son feel safe knowing that I am at home in the town we live in while he is at school every day instead of working far away.
- I really like my house, cat, dog, fish, yard, stuff
- Idle hands are the devil’s playthings
- Unemployment is great and horrible at the same time
- Many people are out and about during the day doing God knows what – I had no idea! maybe lunch?
- I have been in an elementary school classroom for a long time
- There are many things in the world I am totally unqualified for and they seem to hire all the time.
- Necessity is the mother of invention.
- A bad job is a bad job and no matter how hard you try it will infect most areas of your life.
- The job I thought I would be at a loss for I am relieved to have lost.
- I have developed a system of reciprocity with my local beach I pick up trash, it gives me sea glass.
- People need to stop and examine the trajectory of their lives every so often- even if they have to be forced into it by unemployment.
- I finally feel the old spark of me returning
- I am happier than I have been in many years.
Thank you for reading