Reflecting...again

Last Tuesday people at work were finally told that I was leaving for good.  I woke up ecstatic because the secret would finally be out.  My principal waited until the very end of the meeting to make the announcement, and I could feel myself getting nervous as the time approached.  People were, as to be expected, shocked to hear I was going.  And even though I had been waiting for this day for months it was very difficult for me.  I reminded me that saying goodbye is not going to be easy.  This is where I started my career, and I have lots of good memories with so many people at Copper Ridge.

Today I officially notified HR I was leaving, too.  I had the letter drafted on Monday and sitting minimized on my desktop for days.  I knew it had to be done, but that too would mean the official termination of my connection with SUSD.  Woah.  I remember thinking about what it would be like to work in Scottsdale and be able to give back to the district I grew up in when I was in school.  I remember looking at the Copper Ridge website from my dorm room and telling me roommate I'd like to work there because it would be neat to help establish traditions at a new school.  Suffice to say leaving my job has a lot tacked onto it. 

Last August I opened a letter I had written to myself five years earlier.  It was shocking how much of my current life was so similar to what I had wanted (married, living in a patio home in Scottsdale, teaching and considering going into the library).   I know....scary.   It got me thinking though that maybe I am taking too much control of my life and not trusting in God enough to lead me in new directions (or I am a prophet, which probably isn't the case).   To have so many of the things happen in exactly the way I wanted was definitely neat, but it has always left me thinking.  

Moving is kinda like that.  I would never have pictured myself in Seattle, but I know deep down it will push me to trust in God in new ways, and I will grow a lot from this process.  Growing is never easy.  I was reading a book today to the kindergartners about a kinder student (who lived on Mars :) ) nervous about going to 1st grade.  I asked the students who was nervous about 1st grade, and over a majority admitted to being a "little scared."  I of course told them that anything new is scary, but I knew they would do great.  Trigger the huge music cue.  I SHOULD TAKE MY OWN ADVICE.  Granted, moving 1,000 miles from home and away from family and friends and without a job is scarier than changing grades, but there is some similarity in the situations.   

This post is starting to mirror the teeter totter that is my life lately (up and down, up and down), so I think I'll end it on the up note.