Saturday, August 17, 2013

Plot Twist

Sometimes the road is
twisted and tangled.
Do you like to read? I read a lot...and I love mysteries. I really enjoy when there's an unexpected (but logical) surprise to the storyline. Those plot twists make the story interesting and ultimately better than it would have been otherwise.

That's nice for books. But I'm not sure that I enjoy it as much in real life. And that's what happened to me this week. A plot twist in my teaching adventure.

Enrollment at our school is less than projected. So we need fewer teachers. So two teachers must be "displaced." So I'm at the bottom of the pecking order. Therefore, I'm one of the displaced ones. And displaced means that I'll move to another school.

I will be going to another school...to teach second grade. Yes, you read that right, I'm going up a grade level. Immediately.

I'll pack up my room on Monday...unpack at the new school on Tuesday...start teaching Wednesday. Yikes! My new first grade friends will move to a new room on Monday to be with a new (wonderful and sweet) teacher.

This wasn't in my master plan. Heck, this wasn't in the short-range plan.

I'm intrigued and nervous and terrified and just plain sad about the entire thing. But I know it will be an interesting part of my adventure. Plot twists are exciting and can give lots of insight in the overall storyline.

I wouldn't have chosen this particular twist at this point. If I were in charge of it all (and, let's face it, I'm not!), I would have chosen to move to kindergarten. But, maybe I need some broader experiences for whatever is coming down the road. Maybe I just need to practice making new friends. Maybe even more exciting dreams await in a new place. Whatever it is, I trust in Him for the outcome.

I'll keep writing about my adventures here. This next year may be lots of ups and downs as I figure out the second grade landscape. I'll apologize now for any whining (and try to keep it out of the blog).

(And, if you know any good second grade activities or resources, please feel free to share!)

Onward with the adventure!