{"id":3154,"date":"2017-05-05T07:03:38","date_gmt":"2017-05-05T12:03:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/postcardjar.com\/?p=3154"},"modified":"2018-09-12T14:39:25","modified_gmt":"2018-09-12T19:39:25","slug":"so-i-kinda-quit-my-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postcardjar.com\/so-i-kinda-quit-my-job\/","title":{"rendered":"So, I kinda quit my job."},"content":{"rendered":"

A little more than a month ago, I sat down and wrote a letter to my boss. It is one I’d been thinking about for awhile, and as I said in the letter, I wrote it with mixed emotions.<\/p>\n

I have been an educator most of my adult life.<\/p>\n

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My school picture in middle school.<\/p><\/div>\n

I didn’t really set out to be one, it just kind of happened. When I graduated from Lawrence University with majors\u00a0in Spanish and anthropology, I had taken no classes in education and swore up until graduation I would never be a teacher. That was all well and good, except\u00a0I had no job.<\/p>\n

Then, \u00a0I heard that the state of Mississippi offered a unique opportunity for anyone willing to move there to teach. So, much to the relief of my parents, I agreed to teach for two years in Mississippi in exchange for a salary, health insurance, and a free masters’ degree from Ole’ Miss. With the exception of one semester off when I learned to fly airplanes, those two years turned into six with Greenville, Miss., public schools and my career in education was born.<\/p>\n

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I’ve had lots of “first day of school” pictures over the past 37 years like this one with a couple of the neighbor kids.<\/p><\/div>\n

Eventually, I decided it was time to move back to the Midwest\u00a0to be closer to family. Crete Public Schools in southeast Nebraska offered me a position teaching Spanish, and I accepted, quickly integrating myself into the community. I took more classes in educational administration at the University of Nebraska and gained more responsibility.<\/p>\n

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One of my fondest memories as a principal will be the Crete Middle School Color Run.<\/p><\/div>\n

Soon, I was the activities director and then the assistant principal of the high school. Before I knew it, I was named principal of Crete Middle School and for the last seven\u00a0years have been working with 400-500 pre-teens, tweens, and teens as well as\u00a0their teachers every day. I found great fulfillment in that role.<\/p>\n

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One of the rare moments my desk was clean (during the summer months). As you can imagine, a middle school principal’s office is typically a busy place.<\/p><\/div>\n

But time moves on. Over the past year or so, I’ve grown restless in my field and the more Ann and I talked and prayed together, the more evident it became that it was time for a change. We made lists of pros and cons and taped them to the bathroom mirror. We reviewed our finances, and considered health insurance options. We met with our parents, and our pastors. We prayed. And we prayed some more. A lot more. Eventually, we both felt like the time was right to make a career change. And so, about a month ago, I sat down and wrote a letter resigning my position as middle school principal.<\/p>\n

I don’t have another job. I’m not exactly sure what’s next. And as crazy as it sounds, I’m OK with that.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

I’m looking forward to traveling to new places, and new times of the year.<\/p><\/div>\n

So here we are, in our 40s, on the verge of starting something new. Ann and I\u00a0have lots of ideas for things we can do that will hopefully allow us more flexibility, give us less stress, and help us have an\u00a0even greater opportunity to impact the world. The fact that Ann’s former company was sold\u00a0and they’re allowing her\u00a0to take her pension early provides some financial security for us, as well.<\/p>\n

We’re not sure exactly which avenues we’ll pursue just yet.\u00a0We are confident, however, that God has a plan for us, and we’re just excited to see\u00a0what it is.<\/p>\n

For now, I’m going to finish out the school year (13 days, 7\u00a0hours, and 32 minutes, but who’s counting?), take a family vacation, and thank God for the opportunities I’ve had and continue to have to pursue my dreams. I hope you’ll\u00a0stick around and see where life’s journey takes us next.<\/p>\n

As always, thanks for sharing!<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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