The past 5 days have been the most incredible of my life. I have found myself feeling the deepest sorrow, and the greatest joy. Friends I was aware of, and friends that have always been there, just in the background, have rallied around me to show their love and support in ways that I never thought possible.
Last Friday I found myself in a situation no one ever wants to be in: needing new employment. After spending a few hours crying, I gathered myself together and got to work. I would much rather have curled up into the fetal position, crawled into bed, and eaten chocolate while watching Burn Notice, (especially since my marathon has yet to be completed!) but I needed a job, and quickly.
My confidence had been shaken to its core. I was doubting my abilities, I was scared, and didn't know what I was going to do. That's when the cavalry arrived. Actually, that's when the entire ARMY arrived! As word began to spread Friday about what happened, my phone started ringing, text messages started flowing in, and they didn't stop until Sunday night! Friends and family wanted to know how I was doing, if there was anything they could do for me, and encouraged me not to give up. I was blown away by just how many people took time out of their day to contact me. One friend called me four times throughout the day on Friday, because she wanted to check up on me!
Friday afternoon as I began updating my resume and applying for jobs, I asked former coworkers for letters of recommendation. Not only were they incredible about getting them to me quickly, but they were the most AMAZING letters I've ever received! Tears flowed as I read what was written about me and what I have to offer as a teacher. These letters lifted me up when I needed it the most. To those of you who wrote them: thank you will NEVER be enough. I went from feeling like garbage, to knowing that I have value.
I had been going non-stop since Friday. To add to the stress of everything in life, my car decided that NOW was the time to stop working. We had taken it to be diagnosed on Saturday. Some issues were found, and then Saturday afternoon, once we were home, my transmission began showing signs that it was dying. When being put into reverse, and every time it would switch gears, it would buck. Not just a small buck, I mean a HUGE, freak-you-out, jolt you forward buck. Great, just great. It's the scariest when it goes from 1st to 2nd, but it's enough to worry the average person. I am scared to death of car trouble, so this hasn't helped at all. This is the 2nd transmission my car has had, so to say I'm unhappy would be a huge understatement!
Tuesday (yesterday) came and it was time to interview. I got into my car and took Brandon around the block to a friend from church who was going to watch him. Going around the block in my car was enough to make me nervous. We were engaged in small talk, when my car trouble came up. My friend offered to loan me her car for the day, which I couldn't believe. I kindly said thanks, but no, and left. I was 3 blocks away when my phone rang. It was my friend. She had been talking to her husband, and they insisted that I come back and use their car since I would be going to quite a few places that day and they wanted me to be able to focus on my interviews without the stress of whether my car was going to work. So off I went in what I consider a luxury car, compared to mine; another unexpected and welcomed blessing.
My interviews went really well. After the first one, at a public school in Salt Lake City for 5th grade, I had an email on my phone asking if I could interview at another school that day. So I ended up with a FOURTH interview! Wow. My second interview was at a charter school in West Jordan for 3rd grade. When I left that interview, I had been all but offered the position. The 3rd interview was also at a charter school in West Jordan for 5th grade. I had only been out of the 3rd interview for about 5 minutes when I received a phone call from the director offering me the position! I have never heard back from a potential employer THAT quickly! The 4th interview, at a public school here in Tooele for 6th grade, went well, and I was home by about 4pm.
And then something monumental happened for me. I've never had the opportunity to be able to think about the pros and cons of potential jobs. I've only been offered one at a time in the past. By 5pm, I had 3 of the 4 schools offering me the position that I had interviewed for! I was STUNNED. I even had my phone ring 2 more times that night with principals asking for an interview, which I declined because I already had 3 great offers and A LOT to think about! The people I interviewed with were very impressed with my letters of recommendation; so again, thank you ladies for helping me land three offers!
That night friends were all excited and curious about what had happened, and which school I was going to choose. Instead of having a TON of individual conversations about it, I figured I'd write a blog post so all my fabulous friends could satisfy their curiosity! So, where will I be teaching? In the end it wasn't that tough a decision to make. I am a charter school teacher, and I LOVE to teach using Direct Instruction. I will be teaching 3rd grade at.....
This school in is West Jordan, Utah, and they use Direct Instruction teaching methods, and teach the same spelling, reading and math programs that I've been teaching the past 3 years. I am so excited to meet new teachers and students. This will be a wonderful place to work. Brandon is also very excited to meet new teachers and students. He's even more excited that I'll be teaching 3rd grade. He's in 2nd this year, so he knows that means I'll be nearby.
I want to take a moment to thank EVERYONE who has helped me the past 6 days. Your support, no matter how you gave it to me, is recognized and appreciated. Pep talks, sweet, uplifting comments, a listening ear, watching Brandon, letting me borrow your car, copying resume information for me since my printer doesn't work; HOWEVER you helped me, it won't be forgotten. This journey has shown me just how blessed I am, and I love you all very much. My heart is full, and I see the many ways my family has been blessed. In the past, I've gone days, weeks, even months before landing a teaching job. This all started last Thursday, and was over 5 days later.
IN.CRE.DI.BLE
We don't know if we'll be moving to West Jordan or not. From Tooele, it's a 45 minute drive both ways. I hate commuting, so we will see what happens with that. For now, I'm just so grateful for all the wonderful people I have in my life, and the blessings that have been given to us.
Training doesn't start for me until the 18th of August, so it looks like I'll be able to finish my Burn Notice marathon after all!!
