Goin' Back to Cali

For the two years that we've been here in Minnesota, teaching jobs have been scarce. In fact, the state has been issuing so many layoffs that new teachers and veterans alike are looking out of state for jobs. Just my freakin' luck. Now while I have been enjoying time off work, it has given me the opportunity to focus on finishing up my Masters. To this date, I have only three units left...T-H-R-E-E...until I can add that M.A. to my resume. Sure, it's taken me forever to complete the program...in essence, I should've been done last Christmas had I not taken any breaks and continued straight through. But hey, it's better late than never, right?

Working with kids and trying to make a difference in their lives became my calling. I can even pinpoint the moment when it happened, the "a-ha" moment, if you will. It was in church. I was sitting in church listening to the yearly plea of the School of Religion director looking for volunteers to teach in the Saturday catechism classes. I have heard that speech through the years, but somehow, in the summer of '97, I heard it with different ears. Something made me sit up and listen...that fall, I had my first class with Mrs. Gee and my interest in teaching grew from there.

From teaching catechism on Saturday mornings to working part-time in an after school program, to volunteering in a Kindergarten class for the SFUSD, to working several maternity leaves and being a sub, to getting hired as a 3rd grade with a class of my own...the journey was awesome.

But because we cannot stop life from happening, so it was that we couldn't do anything about hubby getting laid off from his job soon after we were married. Here we were, newlyweds in a new apartment, with only a teacher's job to support us. Wasn't going to happen. When the job opportunity for hubby came through for Minnesota, we decided that it was the best thing to do for the both of us. Sure it in the middle of the country...sure it was away from family and friends...and my goodness, you say it snows over there?! But seeing that we were young, we believed that this change would be good for us. And so we upped and moved from the Bay to the Midwest. And boy what a change it was!

Like I mentioned before, I haven't had much luck finding any teaching jobs, but at the same time, I used my time to focus on school. But in all honesty, I've missed the classroom like you wouldn't believe. Now, it turns out that one of my former fellow 3rd grade teacher friends is off on maternity leave and the position was open. The school has been having a hard time recruiting anyone for half of the year and when I heard about it, I jumped at the chance. Although I made calls, they remained unanswered. I assumed that the position had been filled and I stopped thinking about it at all until I got an email from stlow19 congratulating me on being her sub. Ha, I didn't even know I got the job!

The position begins in August and ends in January right after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. While this has been in the works for the past couple weeks already, I've been busy packing up- clothes, essentials, and school stuff. In fact, I'm scheduled to leave for CA in two weeks time.

Sadly, this means being away from hubby. It was a tough decision, but we decided that it would be best for the time being. Goodness knows that having a double income over here could help and this is a good alternative. Though I'm still packing and preparing, I'm already experiencing hubby-withdrawal symptoms. I've gotten used to seeing hubby and spending time with him practically 24/7...and I also have to admit that I've gotten quite used to life in the 'burbs! Now, I'm going from way the f*ck out in the boonies to back to the hood of my parents' house. It's going to take some major getting used to, that's for sure.

But I'm definitely going to miss hubby and I'll always worry how he's doing. I remember how I used to hate it when he'd leave for business trips because I was left all alone in Minnesota...literally! Now just thinking how we are swapping places like that makes me utterly sad. I will also miss our home...I still consider it brand new even though we moved in just this past December. I definitely loved going from apartment living to house living...it's more spacious, more livable, and it's OURS.

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Of course there are visits to look forward to, no doubt. There is also a very good chance that hubby will be transferred back to California! While I don't want to jinx anything by going into too many details, according to his boss-boss, the chances are more than likely...and it's just a matter of when. Okay, I've said too much!

In the meantime, this time away will serve a lot of purposes for the both of us. It will be difficult, sad, lonely, and painful, but I am a believer that all things work out in the end. Personally, this teaching gig will help me decide whether or not teaching is truly for me...if not, well, it's a good thing that it's only until January. From there, who knows what will happen and where I'll be. As for hubby, I know that it will be just as difficult being here in MN. And boy, he'll have to start doing his own laundry and washing his own dishes now- ha! On the real, it'll be weird to be away from hubby for so long, but again, we know that this is the best thing for us right now. Keep your fingers crossed about the job transfer back to civiliza--, er, I mean, California. Who knows where we'll both be...only God and time know the answer to that.