School Starts Again

Spring Quarter began on Monday, and for the first time in almost three years, I'm not teaching. I've always taught year round, including summers, so it is definitely weird to not be teaching right now.

I did, however, substitute teach for a friend at school. She was my mentor for my Workplace Communications class, so we teach it the same way. (Almost everyone else teaches it a different way.) I taught that class on Monday night, and it was weird to be going over someone else's syllabus with the students. I had a hard time knowing that it wasn't my class.

On Wednesday, I taught her Comp. I class. This was harder because I have no idea how she teaches it, and while she left me a million handouts, there were a few mentioned on the syllabus that I didn't have :( I did a good job winging it, and we got out an hour early. I told them that I could almost guarantee that it was the only time that would happen! This class was so different from the Monday night one. It was much more subdued, which made sense with the type of class it is, but I could not get them to talk for anything. They had already written about the topic we were discussing, but no one wanted to share. I told them that I could wait them out, and after several very long and painful minutes, I got a few responses.

It was a boring class. We went over MLA formatting, how to do a works cited page, practiced with our text book, etc. I told them that I knew it was boring, but it was all information that had to be covered before they could begin their papers. (I also assured them that it would be the most boring class of the quarter!) I didn't struggle as much emotionally as I did on Monday.

It was hard going into the faculty office and not having a mail box. (I'm going to ask for it back since I'll be tutoring on campus two days a week and need to have a place for my time sheets.) It was hard to have everyone asking what I was teaching this quarter and having to tell them that I'm not. It was just hard all around.

However, I am soooo thankful that God provided writing center hours for me. I guess that they are having a hard time staffing it, which is the opposite of the last few quarters. This meant that I got a lot more hours than I expected, which means that I'll be making a lot more money too! I enjoy the tutoring, and it's nice to not have to worry about prepping or grading, and the pay is good. I like working with students one-on-one, but at times that gets very old depending on the student and how many times they come to see you to try to get you to practically write the paper for them. I'm praying that it will be a good experience.

Several weeks ago, I did have a job offer, and it was very difficult to turn it down. It was a project based job scoring standardized tests, and I did it last year and really enjoyed it. The problem is that it is full time for 4-8 weeks, and I don't want to put Steven in day care. Plus it's not exactly a high paying job, so after day care costs and taxes, I would bring home practically nothing. Still, it was hard to turn it down.

With my tutoring job, my family is watching Steven while I work. It's such a blessing to have them do that. Steven loves his grandparents and Aunt Katie, and they obviously love him too. It's still hard to leave him at times, but I feel so much better about leaving him there, and they have a swing and stroller and toys all there for him. I so appreciate their watching him!

Even though I didn't get any classes this quarter, I am so thankful that I can still work on campus in a position that I enjoy. This is probably my last year there, so I'm trying to enjoy while I can. On May 3, I am applying/interviewing for a position in our county's community college district. This would drastically cut my commute and allow me to spend more time at home and less in the car.

I am trying to rest in the knowledge that God already has this all figured out for me and that He will continue to provide as He always has in the past.

God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good.