I've been circling this post for weeks now, unsure of how to capture my present in worthy words.
Change has never been my strong suit. Personally, I very much enjoy eating pasta carbonara for 8 straight meals. I still rock Britney Spears when I run. And I've lived within 2 miles of Washington Park since 1985 (college excluded). I'm a creature of habit and predictable risks, which is why right now I'm occasionally waking up to find my world upside down.
Today was my last day at Aurora West. I turned in my badge and coveted universal key, packed up 5 years of Lifetouch school pictures and walked out alone. It wasn't the way that I had envisioned leaving West, the last person in the building on the last day of summer school. Perhaps it was some sort of metaphor...perhaps it would have been a more poetic moment if I hadn't of gotten locked out and had to run around and bang on windows until a janitor allowed me back in...or who knows, maybe that's part of the metaphor.
I remember my first days at West. During my first staff meeting, the other 2nd floor teachers had planned to prank our principal. Every time Mr. Krueger said the words "rigor" or "achievement gap", all of them took a sip of their coffee at the same time. It was hilarious to watch him catch on, and to realize that this group of teachers would turn into great friends. Everything I learned about teaching, I learned at West. And for that, I can't be thankful enough.
But recently, West had started to feel suffocating. I wasn't being challenged as an educator, and there wasn't any room to grow. I realized that my dream job didn't even exist in Aurora Public Schools - and that realization made my decision very simple. I needed to find a place to grow.
I don't know if it was fate, grace or luck that got me hired at the Denver School of the Arts. This school is amazing. My new colleagues have been incredibly helpful - even agreeing to plan with me over the summer - and my principal sees me as a fountain of potential. In the words of my colleague: this is a school where teachers want to stay until they retire. I've seen some glimpses of my future joy, and they are beautiful.
More good news! I'm also moving today! I just really like to put as many stressful transitions into one weekend as possible. Don't worry, I'm not going far (see above about radius requirements from Wash Park) - just downstairs to an awesome courtyard apartment with a door straight onto the gardens. I will always remember how my current apartment first taught me to live alone, and forced me to grow up in so many ways. So I've sold what I could, packed what I couldn't, and tonight I'll step both feet into my future.
By far the biggest change that's happened to me over the past year is that I've fallen in love. As most of you know, I've been a lone wolf for about 28 years now and was pretty good at it. Friends - and my mother - have nudged me over the years to look harder and smarter for a man. But I always knew that I had someone awesome coming, and that he was just running a little bit late. And I was totally right.
I've found a man who thinks I'm super pretty and compliments my brain. And when he laughs at my jokes, his whole body laughs. He drives through rush hour on the highway to pick me up when I lose/accidentallythrowaway my car keys. He walks my dog for me when I want to sleep in. And when we fight he uses his words and stays calm. Learning to be someone's partner requires an enormous amount of patience, hope and humility. But it's worth, oh it's worth it.
Change might not be my thing, but you can't escape it. And occasionally it brings you exactly what you've always wanted.
In summary: my life is awesome right now. I sincerely hope yours is too.
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I asked Bear Dog what he is thinking about all this change, and I thought his perspective was very profound:
