Two Years Out; What's Changed?

It was a planned event; after 31 years, I retired from teaching. This life changing event just happened to coincide with the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic. As the fateful date neared, I thought I would miss the classroom. Perhaps it was the last quarter, the first months of the pandemic, and the surreal state of the world in Spring 2020 that allowed me to move into retirement, close the volume of a book, and start a whole new life. Recently, I attended a school board meeting for the district where I worked and realized it was the first time I had been in that building in nearly two years. People were happy to see me and amazed by how good I looked; they said it looked like retirement really agreed with me. And, so it does....

Actually, there are things that one can do in retirement to which any passionate and dedicated classroom teacher can relate. Simply put, a classroom teacher just never puts him/herself first. For 31 years, I was at the end of the line behind every student. When not in school, I was playing catch up with family. I'm here to tell my former colleagues and every other teacher who will listen. For two years, I took care of me. Please do not wait. I'd like YOU to make it to retirement. 

Yep! Easier said than done. #FromTheShoresOfRetirement I see what YOU, the classroom teacher continues to do. Like Bill Waters, a San Angelo ISD principal, said this past week to his school board, you have a pre-COVID mindset. Even during the 2019-2020 school year the wheels were already coming off that school bus.  Today, in 2022, you are driving a whole new school bus. Driving today's bus with a 2019-2020 minset is, as you know in your heart, physically, mentally, and emotionally impossible to sustain. It's time to reach for the life preserver. 

Moving forward, I am looking to share with you, any gems I get on how to put yourself at the front of the line so that I can see you in a healthy and happy retirement. 

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