I come from a long line of teachers (my grandmother and both parents taught high school, then later my dad taught at the college level), so it wasn't shocking that I decided quite young that I wanted to teach. I flirted with the idea of being an actress, a lawyer, or a professional roller skater (what? I was eight), but I always came back to teaching. Education was big in our house. BIG. I always assumed I have my master's and doctorate by the time I was thirty. A tough regime of dating, sex, club-hopping, and shopping kind of blew that plan out of the water in my twenties.
I did teach high school theater and English for several years before I had my children and switched to being a SAHM. I loved teaching, loved my students, loved the excitement of the lights going up on opening night of the school play, and loved introducing suspicious fourteen-year-olds to Shakespeare. What I hated, once I got married, were the hours. As the drama teacher in a large metropolitan school, I was expected to mount three or more major productions each school year. I frequently came home at 9:00 pm. That was when I started my grading. Not so conducive to family life, you know? And I wanted to be a mom much more than I wanted to teach.
If I had my choice now, I wouldn't go back to teaching, but would go back to school myself. I miss the world of academia, the research, the class discussions, the feeling smart. Stay-at-home-momdom may be fulfilling, but it can be hell on the brain cells.
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3 comments:
I often wish I could go back to school, now that I'm mature enough to appreciate it!
When I was in college I was a little too into partying. Oh well, at least I got it out of my system while I was young.
I do have "mommy brain" but I love my job. Bloggin' helps keep me from going nuts!
Exactly! That's one of the things I've loved most about blogging - getting to connect with so many interesting women.
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