Just before writing this week’s blog, I accepted the resignation of a new teacher before she had even stepped into the classroom.  It was a little unnerving because I really thought the Lord had sent her.  I find myself wondering if it wasn’t for her sake that He sent her… that maybe, before she went back to college to get a second degree, she could see just how much being a teacher entails. 

     I’ve always known that my mother, my daughter, and I can handle a terrific work load and still deal with the emergencies that inevitably crop up each day.  I am learning that this is not as common as I would have thought.  I can honestly look back through my career, though, and say that I have enjoyed the price.  What has my work ethic cost me? 

    Well, right now I am typing without the ability to feel my thumbs or the two fingers next to them on both hands due to carpel tunnel syndrome.  I have moved to more practical shoes because of plantar fasciitis, heel spurs, and a high bridge.  I cannot remember the last time I took an entire day off from work. And, after 33 years of teaching, I still make less than some first-year teachers. 

    But take a look at what I’ve enjoyed.  I have helped grow my parents’ school from about forty kids (when I first came) to a little over two hundred.  I have helped kids from all over the world understand that schools can do so much more and that learning is actually fun.  I am fulfilling my dream to change education. I get to teach some of the smartest kids in town.  And all of this has come without ever lowering my standards.

    No, I would not recommend sixteen-hour days seven days a week to all.  Yes, I will most likely not be able to keep up this pace forever.  But, God has provided the strength to build this program, and He will provide the people to do what he has asked a few of us to carry so far.  And I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of building this program.  It has been my honor!

-          Michelle