Back to Work - ish
August 18, 2023
Year 24 and I start my new position at OFHS as part-time Math Interventionist, working two hours a day!!
Since getting sick, repeatedly I’ve worked on holding space for two conflicting emotions at the same time and this was a doozy. I went to bed last night excited and extremely grateful for the opportunity to be back in my school, helping students and teachers while at the same time grieving my old life of teaching my own classes.
But then I woke up with one of Liz’s favorite songs for me in my head:
Ain't it funny how life changes
You wake up ain't nothing the same and life changes
You can't stop it just hop on the train and
You never know what's gonna happen
You make your plans and you hear god laughing
Life changes and I wouldn't change it for the world
It’s true - for as hard as the last almost three years have been, I wouldn’t change it for the world. And yes, I need to hop on the train. It’s going to be a great year! The hugs I received today walking through the building were proof of that. As my favorite quote throughout this has been:
The difference between hope and despair is a different way of telling stories from the same facts.
For like the zillionth time since I became sick, I am in awe of the perfect timing of my angels watching over me, the grace of God and the strength of everyone’s prayers. Because of the kindness of my administration & school board along with the foresight of the state board, the interventionist position became available in late spring, not long after I had to admit running my own classroom was beyond my capabilities. Perhaps one day I’ll share the comical scenes that played out observing and helping two of my coworkers along with the intimate pain of accepting my cognitive skills were not up to par for the number of split second, multitasked decisions teachers make in one class period. But not yet, it’s still too raw. Maybe in Book Two.
Speaking of Book One…..I’m in the final stages of self-publishing: proofreading, layout, and cover design. I’m dreaming my story will help others who suffer from long COvID not feel alone, help their family and friends understand what it’s like living with this bizarre condition, and help those vying for the title “ world’s busiest parent” know there’s other ways to live. Check out sueponcin.com for a sneak peak.
And as always, keep the hugs, prayers, love, good vibes, magic juju coming! Brian, the girls, and I would not be upright without them!
