But a few weekends ago, I realized why I do what I do.
A parent painted this for my classroom door.
I went to a school district event a few weeks ago and talked with coworkers from this year and last, and I saw some of my students from last year. I got to witness how much they'd grown and what they'd accomplished since last spring. They're a wonderful bunch of kids. A tie for the best class I ever had (the best being the group of 2011-2012 in Alaska).
For a few hours, I was part of my own little community. And I might argue that I kind of have that
every day, but I think the feel of it gets lost when I'm constantly being accosted by 27+ students.
It can be very difficult to forge out an identity when you're a military wife. You pick up, you leave, you plant yourself in a new place, you get somewhat comfortable, and then you pick up and leave again.
And we can add in the fact that, for many military wives, meeting new people and doing new things is always on the bottom of the list of fun stuff to do. We miss the people we used to be stationed with...or the people from our hometowns. It's hard to start over, right?
However, I'm realizing that it's not like that when it's related to my job. I've embraced each school, each opportunity, and each group of kids. The best friends I have here ARE coworkers. I have military acquaintances, but I have friends who know me as Kristin, and not just as Scott's wife. Plus, military wives can get oddly competitive. Teachers aren't really like that. I can't control Scott's job. I can work hard at the complexities of my own though.
All in all, I keep at this because I enjoy having a community and network that's not reliant on the military. And obviously I would support and follow Scott anywhere and try to create a purpose for myself in that place. This isn't about that; it's about doing something to occupy and better myself while he's not here. A wise army wife once told me to not expect my husband to entertain me when he gets home from work/deployment. Something for me, created by me, is necessary.
And my favorite part of teaching is seeing the kids AFTER I have them just to see how they turned out.
Well, that's my favorite part after the buying of school supplies in August. It's hard to beat that.
I think "once a teacher, always a teacher" factors in here. It's all I ever wanted to do, so I'd have a tough time not at least trying to do this every day.