No more "Mrs. Fendrick"

Well, I am officially unemployed...it hasn't quite hit me yet, even after a rather difficult day. Giving up the "Mrs. Fendrick" role and going back to a day to day existence in which I am either called "Mom" or "Geneal" is going to take some getting used to. Although I have only been a non-teacher for about 6 hours or so, I feel the need to briefly reflect on my past life.

Being a teacher means that you have days of frustration and failure mixed with days of joy and fulfillment (that should sound familiar if you happen to be a parent). Standardized testing and mountains of objectives to cover takes away from the creativity and energy that every teacher wishes he or she could share with students. What stays in tact are the relationships that are formed each time a new group of kids enters your classroom. Those are the relationships that I will miss...

And regarding my fellow teachers, I can only say that if you ever have an opportunity to work or volunteer at a school you will see what I saw every day - dedicated, committed, hilarious people who make even the hard days seem easier to face. You know those friends who stop to listen when their 'to do' list is a mile long? Those who bring you a diet Coke or a piece of chocolate when you otherwise might hurt someone? Those who will remember where you "filed" that ever important copy of something or other that you needed yesterday? Well, those are the people that I have been blessed to work with...those are the relationships that I will miss...

So my reflections have not been quite as brief as I had hoped - if you know me well, then you are not surprised. What do you expect? This is a fairly large chapter in my life that has now come to an end (let me - or rather Mike - clarify...this is "temporary retirement"). Thanks for reading...Mrs. Fendrick is signing off...