I made the decision not to return to my current teaching position next year. I'll finish out the year, and then I'm done. I have no idea if the school would have even "invited" me back, but now I don't have to worry about it. The school is not a good fit for my teaching philosophy or my family. With that decision behind me, I can slow down the tap dance I've been performing since August. But, that decision also puts me right back where I was this time last year, which is engaged in a fruitless job search for a teaching position. I've been toying with the idea of chucking the classroom altogether and going back to editing/publishing/writing. We'll see what turns up.
Last month, I posted about the stack of books I want to read this year (see Stack Attack). I'm happy to say that I've made a nice little dent. I finished the Hunger Games series (awesome) and the book about starting a hobby farm (addicted). I just started The Scarlet Pimpernel. Love it. Such rich, intelligent writing. Now that my position as middle school librarin has kicked in, I'm fighting the urge to delve into YA lit. As much as I want to stick to my pre-set list, I imagine I'll be feeding my YA habit here and there. Such good stuff!
As for my kind of sort of New Year's resolutions, I think I'm doing pretty well sticking to them. I have not let my job be my life. Yes, I still let it stress me out, but not to the point where I was before Christmas. I'm also exploring my interest in gardening at a deeper level. I subscribed to Urban Farm magazine, a sister publication of Hobby Farm magazine. I bought the cutest kitchen composter from Uncommon Goods (one of my favorite online stores). Instead of buying all of my veggie garden seeds from the local home improvement store, I'm buying from a seed company! I'm going to have purple carrots! And chocolate cherry tomatoes! And chocolate mint in my herb garden!
I'm still struggling with being in one moment at a time and with being nice. But I keep trying.
Wherever you are, whatever you're doing ... keep it real.
Last month, I posted about the stack of books I want to read this year (see Stack Attack). I'm happy to say that I've made a nice little dent. I finished the Hunger Games series (awesome) and the book about starting a hobby farm (addicted). I just started The Scarlet Pimpernel. Love it. Such rich, intelligent writing. Now that my position as middle school librarin has kicked in, I'm fighting the urge to delve into YA lit. As much as I want to stick to my pre-set list, I imagine I'll be feeding my YA habit here and there. Such good stuff!
As for my kind of sort of New Year's resolutions, I think I'm doing pretty well sticking to them. I have not let my job be my life. Yes, I still let it stress me out, but not to the point where I was before Christmas. I'm also exploring my interest in gardening at a deeper level. I subscribed to Urban Farm magazine, a sister publication of Hobby Farm magazine. I bought the cutest kitchen composter from Uncommon Goods (one of my favorite online stores). Instead of buying all of my veggie garden seeds from the local home improvement store, I'm buying from a seed company! I'm going to have purple carrots! And chocolate cherry tomatoes! And chocolate mint in my herb garden!
I'm still struggling with being in one moment at a time and with being nice. But I keep trying.
Wherever you are, whatever you're doing ... keep it real.
