Job Transitions

Yesterday was my first official day back to work with my last full time employer in over 9 years, and I showed up with a black eye (from a fight I had with the van door & gravity), covered with excessive eye shadow, and a hole in my blouse which I repaired with a hot glue gun while rushing out the door. Despite my disheveled appearance and only having worked there FT for 3 years and PT for 2 years before a 9+ year absence (to homeschool & be at SAHM), everyone who worked with me previously remembered me...not just by face, but by name. How is that possible? Lesson: Make the effort to remember faces and names, for it is a priceless gift you can give to someone else.

I think it was a great day, and I cannot believe I am getting paid to do this job (well except for fighting rush-hour traffic). I just hope all the unexpected perks and actually getting paid to simply learn new things at first (vs. spending 20 hours a week last year learning Statistics well enough to teach it without pay) does not skew my priorities. As a contractor, I expected to work out of my old briefcase with my old laptop (still singed on the corners from the time I accidentally set it on fire), providing all my supplies and equipment, but they gave me a small office - all to myself and a new laptop and 2 new monitors to use while I'm there.  I am treated like a regular employee with intranet access, company email, etc.  They even greeted me with a welcome sign.

I had to call my husband to take off work and go pick up the kids from school, however, so logistics will be a problem, especially when school is out, but at least I get to leave most of my work at the office instead of having it consume my life at home as teaching does. But does my work there make an eternal difference?  Teaching is very gratifying in that regard, but my family suffers from my dedication to it. Anyway - we shall see...for now I'm doing both plus tutoring, substitute teaching and number of other little jobs, so I must focus on finding the right balance. I feel very undeserving of this opportunity which will help pay for our trip to Israel, but I certainly do not want to be outside God's will for me.  Still, teaching does feel like a calling while this job feels like a gift.

Thursday was my last day of teaching STEM at homeschool enrichment camp. We wrapped up with a lesson on air pressure and a hovercraft prototype design competition.  Out of this sampling of hovercraft prototypes built in class today by 3rd-5th graders, which design do you think traveled the:
1) Fastest
2) Furthest?
3) Prettiest (for your right-brainers)*

*Actually, some STEM programs have added an art component and now call themselves STEAM since engineering design does have artistic elements.
 

The students and director made it hard to leave.  They wrote me really sweet notes like the one shown below and brought gifts.  Several lingered after class just to talk and to beg me to come back next fall.  The director told me that the person she had in mind as my replacement backed out, so now I feel guilty for leaving and have been asking others to consider the job in my place.  I didn't think they needed this program like our school's students do since so many homeschooling resources are rigorously STEM minded with strong emphasis on critical thinking skills, but these students really touched me with their kind words, homemade gifts, and lingering goodbye hugs.