Change

How do we know when it's time to make a change? Sometimes we can feel that something isn't just right. The job...the relationship...the house we live in. While we certainly can't make major changes at a whim particularly when others are dependent on us or it's financially unwise, sometimes it pays to listen to that inner voice that's letting us know we're not where we belong.

I left teaching two years ago. I loved being the in the classroom with my students especialy since I was teaching a class I created. But I felt that rumbling within telling me it was time to move on. I didn't want to listen because although I loved what I was teaching and especially the way it was changing the lives of the teens in front of me, I was looking to new challenges again. Teaching anything 20 times in 3 years can do that to you especially after teaching 25 years before that. Should I leave or should I stay? I was lucky...I had the required 28 years of teaching to garner a minimum retirement check so I could leave if I wanted to.

Why I left became more clear cut that last year. My best friend had terminal cancer. She had been waiting for me to retire so we could travel together (her husband didn't enjoy travel). I didn't want to miss her last years being a busy classroom teacher.

I knew leaving was truly the right thing for me when my students asked me to leave. No, they weren't kicking me out but instead telling me straight out that my course was 'changing lives' and that 'every teen in America needed to take my course.'

OK...message received. It was time for me to go. Looking back now, it was the right decision although I missed the kids and my colleagues terribly. I did get to spend 2 amazing years with my best friend or as she called us "twin sisters from different mothers." We made the most of our time, adapting our adventures to whatever her treatments allowed.

This Monday confirmed I made the right decision. I had guest lectured for the day at the Strategies of Success classes in my old classroom. As much as I enjoyed it, I remembered that it no longer fit who I was. I'm someone who needs to put everything I can into whatever it is I'm working on...and then move on. It was time...

Glad I listened to that rumbling...

Losing and finding

Ok...it's been way too long since I've been on here. In some ways I've lost a lot of time but I needed that time to heal. Writing something that others would see was too hard the past few months so I gave myself the option of getting other things done that didn't involve being creative. I read a lot, watched a lot of the kind of TV where I could learn something, took notes so that I could use what I learned later. That worked for me. Doing the more mundane was manageable. I used a lot of the strategies I've learned to get through this difficult time.

So what did I learn that would be useful to others?

• Don't be too hard on yourself in tough times.
• Don't take on tasks that you don't really have to do.
• Do other smaller tasks that you know you can handle.
• Listen to your body. You'll probably need more rest. Get someone to help you if you can so that you can get the rest your body needs.
• If you're really upset, try writing out your feelings in a journal or on a piece of paper. What you write does not have to be perfect or spelled correctly. This is for you, not your old English teacher.
• For some that don't like to write, say what you need to say out loud to a trusted friend or relative, on a cassette, or to an empty room. It's the writing and the saying that seems to release the hold these feelings have on us
• If you like to read, take advantage of the many wonderful resources that are out there. I just read a wonderful book by Dr. Wayne Dyer which showed up exactly at the time that I needed it most. I had ordered it as a fill in on my Amazon order so I could get free shipping (I'd rather get a book than pay for shipping). It was perfect for where I was at that moment of time. Seems there truly are no coincidences. Maybe it's just what you need too. Here it is on Amazon
  Being In Balance: 9 Principles for Creating Habits to Match Your Desires

Losing someone we love is the most difficult challenge we humans face. But we do get through somehow which speaks to the resiliency of the human spirit. Finding we have ways to cope makes the journey just a bit more bearable.