"today your life begins....

... the rest is yet unwritten"  (beautiful words in a song that is running through my head today!)

I was cleaning out my fridge this morning, which of course leads to the cleaning out of my kitchen and  cabinets, and all the junk drawers.  Yes, I said drawers. Plural.  Don't judge me, you know you have more than one, as well!  In my travels, I found all the soda can tabs and Box Tops for Education that I've been saving and my housemate said to me, "Are you still going to collect all those things, now that you're not an elementary school teacher anymore?"

I'm not an elementary school teacher anymore.  How odd!  If you're not a teacher, you probably wouldn't understand, but if you are, you realize how much being a teacher is a part of your identity.  It's not just what I do for a paycheck... it's what I do all day long, think about in the car, worry about when I'm falling asleep, and plan ahead for in my "summers off." (Incidentally, who ever started calling it "summers off" either wasn't actually a teacher, or didn't work for my district!)  Thank heavens I'm still a teacher... because that is written on my soul as part of my identity... it's what I do even when I'm not at school.  I explain things, I demonstrate how to do tasks; I take complex ideas; and break them down; I sometimes even scold other people's naughty children with just my eyes (even grown up children!).  I expect the best from people, from everyone around me, from myself, all of the time.

I must be exhausting to be around.  But this is who I am.  I am a teacher.  And as of today, I am a high school English teacher.  Crazy!