What’s One More Thing
I’m about to embark on the busiest year of my life and wanted to document it so I searched “whatsonemorething” on Instagram and it was available. Either people aren’t as stupid as me and know how to say, “no” or I just got lucky in my years’ mantra. But I wanted to document this not just on social media but in written form that I can look back on and read. Maybe my future grandchildren will read it too and be inspired to do the same, take a plunge, one can hope, right? This is (hopefully) my last year of graduate school. If all goes as planned, I will graduate at the end of May 2023 with a master’s in rhetoric and composition. If it does not go as planned, well then I’ll graduate in the Fall of 2023. I’ve given myself a grace period to avoid unnecessary pressure if it becomes too overwhelming. Up to this point, I’ve held it together as a full-time student, mom, and partner but taking on a full-time job in a subject I had no intention of pursuing with no real guide is quite an undertaking. I’m acknowledging this for my sanity but also giddily excited to be back in culinary, it is my true passion.
So how did I get here? It had to be the cosmos! Life works in bizarre ways and if you pay attention it can lead you on a path you did not plan for but should take out of pure curiosity and adventure. I was working as a substitute teacher when something quite terrifying happened. I was sitting at my temporary desk as my students were working on a worksheet their teacher had left for them to complete. At the furthest away table, I noticed the students were passing around something. My desk was located in the back corner and they were located closest to the door across the room from me. I assumed it was a cellphone because kids are obsessed with their phones at this age but the next time I looked up, a student was pointing a gun at my whiteboard. I have never felt so many emotions in such a short period of time. I had no way out, the classroom was packed and I had zero options. As quickly as my heart sank I thankfully realized that it was fake. I stood up and marched over and in my mom voice said, “give that to me NOW!” I ripped it from the student’s hand, wrapped it in a bag, and gave it to my student service to hand to the principal who knew I was sending it after I called the front desk. Two weeks later the Uvalde incident happened. Needless to say, it spun my brain and rattled my soul, sadly this is the reality of schools in America.
Life is full of emotional ups and downs, it’s like the ocean, and the true Pisces that I am connects with this constant motion of highs and lows. I think this is why I never get overly excited or terribly down. Horrific things have happened in my life that I will save for another day but I have had equally ecstatic and remarkable joyful moments happen as well. I could even argue that I believe way more good has happened than bad but still, I don’t ever depend on one moment to ever bring me utmost joy. I think this is why childbirth is painful. Having a baby is truly the happiest moment of your life, holding the pure goodness of what you have created and being able to hold a piece of your soul outside of your body in a physical form has to come at a cost and that cost is child baring and labor and all that it consists of motherhood as a whole.
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Back to the school thing. So that weekend after the substitute doozy it just happened to be mother’s day weekend. I briefly met the principal of the school which I rarely do, they’re usually too busy to speak with us temp teachers. He apologized for the incident and asked if I had any children. After telling him about my son he wished me a happy mother’s day and ran off to do what principals do, work their butts off. That weekend the district posted an opening for a culinary arts teacher. I stared at the job post, overthought it for a day, looked over the qualifications, and with some nudging from a fellow culinary, applied. What did I have to lose, the worst they could say was, “no.” I have always lived by this motto and in my early twenties, I vowed to myself to say “yes” to as many things as possible. Back then it was to say “yes” to any invitation to a concert, party, dinner, or outing of any sort. My “yes” has since changed a tiny bit only because of time and the cost of a sitter and well I’m just tired or can’t afford these luxuries.
What’s my one more thing? I’m getting married the weekend school ends. I did not plan it this way but after way too many years together and finally graduating college we thought it’d be a good time. What I did not anticipate was working full-time in a subject I was not studying for and also getting married just days after the school year ends. What I did anticipate was graduating with my master’s degree at the end of this academic year, Spring 2024. I am definitely qualified to teach the subject I am teaching in Culinary Arts, I have a Culinary degree that I have painfully paid student loans on for years. But what my teaching credentials are in is English subject matter. It puts me in an unusual spot because although I have a culinary degree and years of experience I need to take even more courses in this subject to get entirely separate credentials in hospitality. Yikes!
Lastly, I am the vice president of my son’s elementary school’s PTO, parent-teacher organization. Again this was accepted when I thought I would be working as a substitute teacher and finishing school. That sounds so easy now that I am slowly sinking into the third week of 12th grade. Please understand my humor in this all. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, we’ve all heard that a million times. So cheers to living life to the fullest and saying, “yes” as often and healthily as you can.
Oh one last thing, we just adopted our foster pup so now we have a wild puppy in the house!
To be continued…
