Being a mommy and a teacher

Life certainly is strange.

No, my life has yet to become the stuff of the bizarre and truly inspirational, but I still find it funny how things go.

Late in high school, I took to the notion of becoming a teacher.  For the first two years of college I flirted with both the elementary education and health science education programs before finally committing to becoming an elementary school teacher.  I graduated, got a job, taught for three years, and... didn't get my contract renewed.

I was heartbroken.  Not only was I out a paycheck, my dream of being that cute little elementary school teacher had been ripped from me.  I applied for other jobs, but nothing really panned out and, frankly, I was too miserable to be at my best for applications. 

Anyone, I took a job with my local BSA council, got married, and eventually had my daughter Ruby.  My husband was still in college at the time, but I figured he would eventually graduate and I could be a stay-at-home-mom.

Which I did for a little over a year.  I was of two minds about it:  On one hand, I loved it.  I loved being with my daughter.  It was also useful as she was a miserable, no-feel-good baby the first few months--and my husband was on active duty for the summer so I was living with my parents.  On the other hand, I was in fear of being bored.  Even after we moved into my grandmother's basement (a temporary place until my husband could land a geology job of some sort) I felt like I wasn't doing enough with my day.  Play with the baby, keep house, play video games, etc.  Especially since my husband wasn't finding a job for his degree and instead was working a call center (miserable) and then as a security guard (not too shabby).

Financially, we were in great shape.  But we wanted out of Grandma's basement, maybe buy a first house.  So I figured with my husband's schedule, he could watch Ruby during the day and I could take the occasional sub job.

So I returned to tossing out applications.  But, heck, it had been four years with a few interviews but no job offers.

I get called in for a couple of interviews (I was aiming for sub or part-time stuff, but also put in some full-time applications.)  One interview at a local charter school asks how soon I could start.  (Really?  It's almost the final quarter of the year.)  I say, with my husband's schedule, I could start immediately.  The principal and her people say they'll call me with their decision (never happens if you don't get the job) and I leave, figuring that's the last of that.

I return home to await the posting of the Amazon Vine Last Harvest list, all the while mentioning my job interview on the Vine member forum largely as a joke (hey, I went to a job interview, that should get the Last Harvest posting!)

Turns out I later got to post I interviewed for AND WAS OFFERED a job and Last Harvest still couldn't post. 

So the following Monday my husband is watching Ruby and I'm teaching a classroom full of crazy second-graders.

So, for the time being, I'm not being a stay-at-home-mom.  I have joined the ranks of working mothers and I'm suddenly back in teaching. 

Here we go.