2023 Update (half of it anyway)

Every single kid at school knows now, so I guess I can make it Facebook official. I’m officially become a full time stay at home mom.

For the next 12 months.

Last week a bunch of kids asked me if I could move up with them to 5th grade. They ask me that every year. When I told them no because I’m staying home with Stevie next year they were so upset. One of them said they would drive to my house and take me with them to school everyday. Another one said Stevie was so lucky.

This week they keep coming up to me and telling me I’m their favor teacher. Telling me they love me and I made reading fun. And that I even made writing fun sometimes.

What a freaking win.

This job is so hard. It’s so so draining. People do not give teachers the respect, love, or pay that they deserve. I honestly wish we could force everyone to serve as a full time substitute. Because you truly do not know until you’ve done it. It is so different from any other jobs day to day. Not to even mention that on average teachers make more that 1500 decisions every single day at work.

All that is to say I love teaching. I really do. I love the relationships I get to have. I love this weird time after STAAR where I can basically just hang out way more with them and be silly and funny. Where we all know each other and it’s really a weird family. I love watching kids experience something for the very first time ever. It’s my greatest joy to watch kids enjoy learning.

But I am so, so excited to stay home. But I’m also extremely nervous about finding a job I can do part time from home. Because mama’s still gotta work at least a little bit.

So I’m boosting my resume. I’m fixing up and investing in LinkedIn. I’m doing the new crazy time consuming required aspects of getting a job in 2023. Trying to figure out what I can do and what I want to do. Transitioning teachers don’t get hired easily because we “don’t have enough experience in the field.” Which is absolute nonsense. But also the not being sure what I want to do.

Writing? I’ll have so much more time to write! I can’t wait to try and write more this summer. I’m getting really excited for that. But is it something I could actually get paid to do? With no formal training or any experience?

Or stay with something in the education realm? Id LOVE to get a job helping teachers implement apple devices into their classrooms. Because that’s happening and it’s hard to be good at managing it. And I’m pretty good at it. Like people come observe me teach using my device and every kid on a device. I am pretty proficient in Apple’s educational suite.

Try my hand at Etsy again? We don’t have the space right now. At all. Which would be a big issue in making that profitable. But I literally saw a teacher at my school wearing a shirt I designed and made and took to goodwill. I could have made $15.

Maybe actually try to sell on Canva. Or teacher pay teacher. Like actually do some educational graphic design. Everyone says I could.

I really just want to do something where I can be home, invested in my kid, doing fun, challenging work that I love, and also being able to earn some kind of wage. Preferably something where I can be creative.

But if all else fails I’ll just get a boring data entry job or something.

Welcome to my brain it’s exhausting in here.

Then, a few days ago, I got the text of a lifetime from my old teaching teammate. A friend of hers needs a graphic designer immediately. No experience or degree needed. But kind of a big company. I’m pretty sure they just want someone to manage their emails. But y’all I could DO THAT. I would freaking LOVE THAT.

Naturally it’s all I’ve thought about since then because I’m chalant af about everything. I’ve spent every free moment over the last two days (so like 5 hours total) making an online portfolio. It’s very green but I think it’s passable.

Even if I don’t get the job (because I absolutely have a snowball’s chance in hell) I’m so proud of myself. This has given me such a neat look at my designs as a collective work. It’s so fun to see where and how I’ve grown. What I still need to learn and work on. I’m very grateful to have tapped into that.

And to be proud of myself for not saying “oh I don’t have a portfolio I can’t.” I am putting myself out there. I’m shooting my shot. It’s really scary and so exciting all at once!