So I've had on my mind, for months now, to reflect on this past year. Like most of my blog posts, I've done it in my head, but that's as far as it's gone. And some things, I just like to document to read back on. However, Facebook Memories has proven that can sometimes be painful, as does reading some of my first blog posts on here, but I digress.
And choose to continue documenting my life, even if I may regret it later.
Honestly, when I first told myself, "Oh, it's the New Year, you need to blog about the past year." As life continued to happen, I brushed it off when then new thought, "Well, not a lot happened so maybe I'll pass this year." But then I forced myself to really think about it and boy was I wrong.
2018 was a year of probably the most change for me, and that says a lot of if you know me.
I started not one but TWO new careers while also going back to school as full time as you can be in graduate school, and completely transitioned my life from days of meetings and being involved in about every aspect of the community, to days in a room with 120+ teenagers.
About 6 years ago today, I wrote a blog post about how I finally realized what I was called to do. You can read the post here. Cliff's Notes version: I realized I wanted to be a high school social studies teacher. 5 years later, my path finally led to that moment. You may be wondering, "So?" and also maybe, "Why did it take 5 years?" Well friends, let me answer....
A few months after this post, I would be featured as Wednesday's Women in the New Enterprise. My future boss and mentor who worked at United Way would read said article then reach out to me and introduce me to the organization. I immediately fell in love. And a couple of months after that, I found out they were hiring and knew it's where I needed to be right then and there. And boy was that the right decision. Not only did I get to learn so much about our community and issues that so many families face, I also had the opportunity to advocate for these families and be a part of some amazing solutions. An added bonus was the network I created. This network would lead me to finally taking the plunge to use my community experience in the classroom.
This side road wasn't the only thing that delayed my becoming an educator. The big kicker, even before joining United Way, was my health. This summer I will celebrate 7 years having leukemia. If you've followed my journey, you know dealing with the side effects and the 'new me' changes hasn't always been easy. It's actually been rough and completely changed my life. I went from my days be filled from sunrise to sunset and doing "all the things" to be at the mercy of the next bout of nausea, extreme fatigue, and bone pain. My life completely revolved around my disease, whether I liked it or not. I blogged about it a lot, but here is an example. It's because of my health that I honestly wasn't sure if I'd ever get to become a teacher because I didn't think I could handle a full day. Every job I've had since being diagnosed with leukemia has had to offer flexibility-- allow me to lay down when that extreme fatigue hit, go home early, come in late, and just do whatever it took to function. That can not happen when you teach. You are committed from 8-3:30 and there is no time for self care. There came a point where I actually gave up on the idea on becoming a teacher for those reasons. So what changed? Time. After every year has passed since being diagnosed with leukemia, each year I've been able to learn to live with the side effects better and better. I know how much water to drink, what foods and drinks to stay away from. when to take my medicine, to always take it with Zofran, to always get plenty of sleep, to nap as soon as I feel fatigued, to take a hot bath and use a heating pad as soon as I feel bone pain, and so much more. It was because of that, I finally felt like I was ready to give teaching a try and see if my body could handle it. Turns out, I can.
But not without serious help, mainly from my husband. Being a first year, no formal training teacher is no walk in the park. It would be exhausting for the healthiest of person. So add a leukemia to the mix and it is tough. So, so tough. There's been many of days that I've had bad health days at school, but I've been able to push through. More often than not, as soon as I get home I have to take a nap. And luckily my loving and compassionate husband gets this and takes the Tot to the basement and leaves me be without making me feel guilty.
But I'm doing it. Wow. I'm doing it.
And not only am I doing that, I'm also working on my Masters degree and will have completed it in 16 months (I'll be done in June, yay!) And if that's not enough, my sister and I just celebrated our store, Raiment + Boon's, 1 year anniversary! (more on that soon)
Guys, I became a teacher, completed 3/4ths of a Masters degree and started a new business with my sister in 2018. It was the year of Dana!
So much accomplished, so much to be proud of, and so much to be excited about.
The biggest lesson I learned was how to take it one day at a time. That's something I've never been able to do. I'm a planner. I like to get things done early, check things of my list. But I quickly learned that could not happen with two careers, college, and kids. I had to learn to plan out what needs to be done each day, and just work on that daily list and not think about the next day. That was the biggest challenge but I think it pushed me to a whole new level of growth that I needed.
2018 was an amazing year, but I am looking forward to (the rest of) 2019. I'm not one to rush time BUT I am looking forward to having one full school year under my belt. I can't wait to begin planning this summer for next year. I've learned so much in my first year teaching and can't wait to really apply it next year. I'll also be done with my Masters degree by summer which means I'll finally have some free time!
What will I do with it? Cook more, exercise more, and most definitely spend more quality time with my kiddos. They unfortunately often times get the worst of me so I'm looking forward to rewarding them for their patience and support this summer and beyond.
Cheers to a new (rest of the) year!
No comments:
Post a Comment