Reflections on My Former Life

Many people who follow my blog or have only known me as a preschool teacher, don't know about my former careers. There have been a few: from a secretary in the Business Department at my high school when I was a senior there to working in the legal field to cleaning businesses and churches to being a Creative Memories Consultant to doing a construction clean-up business with my husband (throwing and loading construction debris into our dump truck and making dump runs), all prior to becoming a teacher. 

I was reminded of my time working in the legal field when I had a dream the other night. My oldest daughter has been offered and will soon begin a job at juvenile hall in the probation department in the county where we live. Maybe that inspired the dream, maybe it was something I ate, who knows?? 

In my dream I was working in the district criminal office of the clerk of court in the county where I used to live on the east coast. It was my first day on the job and I was asking if any of the people I used to work with were still there, had retired, moved on, etc. After the person showing me around left the room, I sat at my desk and though I was grateful for having the job, was sad that I wouldn't be spending my time each day with the kiddos I love so much. Then I woke up and was so relieved that it was just a dream.

Don't get me wrong, my jobs in the legal field (I was also a legal secretary for 3 years) were great jobs, but just didn't fulfill my heart's desire to work with children. I mean, as a child I did spend lots of time behind my house writing and drawing on the chalkboard we had attached to our smokehouse, pretending that I was teaching students. (little did I know) However, I didn't even fully realize this dream until I began homeschooling my oldest when she was 4 and began teaching group studies like Little House in the Big Woods. My natural creativity and enthusiasm began revealing itself. 

My second birthday; little did they know the bundle of
dynamite the world would experience through knowing me. lol

As I was driving to work that same morning, I had a realization. Not that the people I dealt with on a daily basis while working in the legal field were hardened criminals, but they were people that either tried to take advantage of the system and/or just made bad choices. They were the opposite of the people I felt empowered and able to impact. With my current vocation/passion/cry of my heart AKA job, I can impact the lives of little people and help them see the value of making good choices, help them realize that their daily decisions don't only impact just themselves, but all of those around them, and that they are responsible for the decisions they make.

When we impact a generation, we are literally TOUCHING the future. As early childhood educators we have the amazing privilege to help shape the people they will become and the huge responsibility to teach them how to make tomorrow brighter than today. We are so blessed!