25 Years

          In the summer of '91 I was on the hunt for my first teaching job. I had graduated from Northern Illinois University in December of '90 and worked with some Asian children as a classroom aide in the first six months of 1991.

          I received a call from a principal in Warren, Illinois on the first Monday in August and an interview was set two days forward. I had two other interviews earlier that summer, but neither panned out and now, the clock was ticking ever so close to the start of a new school year. I knew this would be my last chance to land my own classroom for the '91-'92 school year.

          The interview went well. Before departing I asked the principal when he'd be making his final decision and he said he would call everyone interviewed with a yay or nay by 5 p.m. that Friday. Fast forward to Friday at 4:00 and there I was in my parents' kitchen, pacing back and forth, hoping and praying the phone would ring with good news.

          Alas, at 4:50 that afternoon I received the call that I was hired. My first teaching job would begin in ten days.

          Earlier today I officially completed my 25th year of teaching. I went through the brief check out procedures with my principal and immediately thereafter, I began walking down the hall toward the parking lot. I was able to keep my emotions in check until I got in the car.

          The tears began when I started thinking about how many incredible people I've worked with over the years. I've been beyond lucky in that regard. I thought about the three I don't work with anymore. All three have moved on from teaching at Riverview and I rarely hear from them anymore. All three touched my life in a special way. Danielle. Heather. Rhonda. I miss seeing you every day.

          The tears intermingled with thoughts of my silver anniversary's arrival, along with remembrances that took me back to that first day of teaching. How nervous yet eager I was in the minutes before the children arrived on that initial day. How I navigated my way through all there is to learn in one's first year of teaching as a whole. How my life inside and outside of the classroom has changed so dramatically since that late August day in 1991.        

          Changes? Oh yes, I've seen aplenty. The amount of testing has skyrocketed. The average child's ability to focus has plummeted. The percentage of parents who support the teacher has taken a nosedive as well. 

          Things that have stayed the same? Certainly there have been some. The enthusiasm for so much in life that so many children carry. The feeling I get when I see the look that indicates the light bulb has gone off in a child's head. The inner reward of knowing I've made a difference in a child's life.

          Regardless of the amount of similarities or change over time, I'm now on the downside of my teaching career. Retirement is likely to arrive 9-10 years from now. The skinny 23 year old me rarely, if ever, thought about the 'R' word. The not so skinny 48 year old me thinks about it often. For now though, this moment in time is a special one, a landmark occasion in my teaching career. Twenty five years. I'm simply stunned at how quickly it's all gone by.