Day 95- MoveOn and My Job

Let's reason our way into this one.  I wrote about cheap yet satisfying laughter last year.  For today's donation, I was having trouble coming up with something that would fit this bill well.  I thought about who might provide me some cheap laughs, and I think Will Ferrell definitely fits that roll.  He's all about cheap laughs.  One big charity that Will supports is MoveOn (http://www.moveon.org/).  While researching this one, I saw that there's a Jon Stewart piece on the home page with the title, "You Can't Simultaneously Fire Teachers and Tomahawk Missiles."  That was good for some cheap laughs!  

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I have been thankful for my job a million times on here and in a million different ways.  Today is different.

Public education is receiving less money from the government and less money from tax revenues.  Less money means budget cuts and tough choices.  Budget cuts mean positions cut.  Are you following yet?

I was presented with a real possibility several weeks ago that my position could be in jeopardy.  There were other cuts that would affect people who would in turn shuffle around to other positions, one of which was mine.  This was and has been scary.

The good news is that I am confident that I work as hard as I can and do more than what is asked of me at my job.  If I was going to lose my job, I told myself, it would be through absolutely no fault of my own.  While this was somewhat comforting, the whole situation has still been stressful.  I couldn't help but worry about having to be back on the job market, and it is a dismal market at that.  I was disappointed that after all the planning and creating I have done this year I might have to start all over again.  I didn't even want to think about leaving the coworkers I have come to know and adore so much this year.

It had been long enough since I first heard of all this that I had made peace with the situation.  Going into today, when I knew I would find out what was happening next year once and for all, I had already decided that I have worked too dang hard to be defeated by anything.  Although I would have been devastated to leave this job, I just know I would have busted my tail to create some new opportunity. 

Bloom where you're planted.

Thanks to a number of factors that don't really need to be discussed (some shuffling in which people kept their jobs), I got good news today.  I can't even begin to explain how thrilled I am.  Ecstatic.  Overjoyed.  This will be an extremely long week with a full schedule plus two nights of parent teacher conferences.  I have gained some much needed perspective to more than help me get through it.  I will gladly do what is asked of me because I am so incredibly thankful to have the opportunity to do my job.

I don't take for granted the fact that I get to do something that I love every day.  It is another important way in which I feel as if I am the luckiest girl alive.  Our superintendent said something in a meeting a few months ago that I have kept with me ever since.  People were discussing the state of public education and the lack of funding and the endless attacks on our profession... all the chaos.  She told us that she understands how tough it is right now and how easy it is to get caught up in all of it and to let it get the best of us.  However, we have to control what we can control.  What's within our control?  We can get up every day and teach our kids in the absolute best way we know how.  I love that perspective, and I think about it often.

I am blessed to have been given the gift of at least another year's worth of days to give another group of kids the best I have.

Thank you, my job, you made my day. 

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