The Next Chapter

Chapter 3: Goodbyes Nine years.  Nearly a full decade.  And now, I say goodbye. Is it weird for me to say goodbye to and mourn the loss of a room? Maybe. But this place represents far more than just a room. For nine years, room 210 has been my second home. In those same years, I have lived in three different houses, but this classroom never left me. It has seen me at my best, and at my worst. I have laughed, yelled, cried, and celebrated here. It has seen hundreds of students come and go, each one making an impact on my life. I have spent nine years trying to build a safe space for all students. A place where everyone could feel welcome, loved, supported, and able to learn and grow. Clearing it all out and walking away from it was so much harder than I ever thought it would be.  Walking away from room 210 also comes along with walking away from HighMark Charter School. I have put nine years of blood, sweat, and tears into this school. I started during the school's second ...

Chapter 2: And Then There Were Four.  On April 15th, this little booger made his debut. It was a Friday, and I was apparently in labor all day long, I just didn't quite realize it. I was induced with Charlie and had an epidural, so I didn't really know how to identify whether what I was having were Braxton-hicks contraction or the real thing. By the time I got halfway home, I was genuinely concerned that I would have to pull over and call someone. I wasn't sure I wanted to go to the hospital yet, because I have known several people who got all the way there only to be told, "Yeah, you're not ready yet," and sent home. When I finally made it home, though, we took Charlie to my mom's and headed straight for the hospital, where I was five centimeters dilated. Which, the nurses happily informed me, "buys you a stay." After a difficult conversation with the doctor and amongst ourselves, we decided it was best to go the C-section route again. Not the i...