What’s YOUR story?

Recently I have been reading many posts about the power of story telling. Whether it be digital or other I think story telling is a great way for people to get to know you and what you stand for.

I am sure there are some amazing stories out there. Not often do we hear about the journey of a principal. So here is my journey as short and sweet as I can make it, if you care to read about it.

Not long after I started teaching I thought, in the back of my mind, that I would like to be a principal. I became the before and after school program director and that thought quickly left my mind. It is much different dealing with parents/adults than the day to day dealings with children. By the way, teachers are not very well trained to deal with parents during college. They are barely prepared for the day to day grind of the classroom. May the “force” be with them on their teaching journey! That’s another ‘story.’

As the before and after school program director I quickly realized that I could not do everything well and that I was going to have to give something up. So I chose the classroom and passed the torch for the before and after school program to the next victim. (It is actually a very successful program right now!) In the back of my mind I still thought I could make a difference beyond the classroom…….

Seven years ago my husband and I started trying to have children of our own. Little did I know the battle ahead for us. After a year of trying on our own and a year of fertility treatments I quietly gave into the fact that maybe biological children were not in my future. I do not openly talk about my belief in God. It is personal to me but I know that God does not allow desires of your heart to go unnoticed. I just wasn’t sure how he was going to fill the void of not being able to have children of my own. I guess having 400 children and my own school was meant to fill that void. :):):):)

I was not going to pursue my Master’s because if we decided to do invitro fertilization that was going to cost as much or more than my Masters and I wanted a baby more than my Master’s. Well, a group of teachers I worked with decided to get their master’s in a cohort program that was going to be offered on Wed. nights at my OWN SCHOOL!!! Now, how could I pass that up? The reason I decided to join the program, other than peer pressure, was because I could not continue to put my life on hold. I wanted to be a principal and/or make a difference in people’s lives but I also wanted children of my own. Basically I went into denial about not being able to have children for a couple of years. As hard as I prayed or as much as talked about it I could not understand why I was not going to be a mom. Even if I could not be a mom at least my husband deserved to be a father because I knew he would be a great dad.

Timing is everything and it wasn’t until I got pregnant, my first year as a principal, that I understood God’s timing. It hit me up side the head like a ton of bricks. There really is a reason for everything!

So, what’s YOUR story? Do you know your teachers’ stories? Do your teachers know your story? Why do you do what you do year after year with very little recognition?