For the record I was an Exceptional Education teacher and I was teaching high school students, which I LOVED!! I absolutely LOVED my students with all my heart and I still do and will always. I had some of the best students and parents I could have asked for. But let me tell you a little of the back story…

Let’s go back to the school year 2017-2018. It was a rough year for me. I lost my dad in December after his battle of pancreatic cancer of 5 years took him home to be with our Lord. Leading up to his death was stressful, I knew he was in pain and he was consistently on my mind. He worked as a maintenance person for the same school system I worked for. It was awesome because whenever he was on my campus he made sure to come by my room. Even my students knew who he was and would quickly say “Your daddy is here”. Always, always brightened my day. The fall of 2017, daddy started getting worse and it may not have been evident to everyone but it was to his immediate family. He continued to work but it would break my heart when I saw him and knew he was in pain. Fast forward to December 29, 2017, the night I held his hand, kissed his forehead and told him goodbye one last time on this earth. Honestly, I didn’t know how I was going to be able to go back to work. My heart ached at the thought of not ever seeing him walk into my classroom again. Seeing other maintenance men would bring tears to my eyes. It was a very dark time in my life and I changed.

In the spring of 2018, Mike and I hit a rough patch in our marriage. With the grace of God and a supportive family we worked through it but it was hard. If anyone tells you their marriage is a walk in the park, I would be hesitant to believe them. It isn’t but it is definitely worth fighting for.

After the whirlwind of that school year I felt like I needed to make a change in my life. I did not like the person I had become and I felt I was extremely negative and I did not want to be that way anymore. At the beginning of the school year in 2018 I decided I was going to change. I wasn’t going to be the negative person I had been for years. I wanted to get away from the gossip and negativity for myself. I was finally at a good place in my marriage and my personal life, so it was time to get that way in my work life too. It was hard, it caused me to lose work friends and to not be “in the circle anymore.” Honestly, it was the absolutely best thing I could have ever done for myself. You see a couple of my best friends told me after that they noticed a change in me. They said I was finally back to the old Sarah and they hadn’t seen that in years. It made me sad to hear but I was so thankful to be back and taking care of myself.

In the summer of 2019, Mike and I started talking heavily about moving and leaving the only area we had lived in together. We decided the school year 2019-2020 was going to be the last year I would teach. It wasn’t an easy decision for me, but I knew in my heart it was time to move on. The hardest part was telling my assistants early on that this would be my last year. I had two of the best assistants I could ever have asked for. I have been blessed over the years with some pretty awesome assistants, which I am thankful for! Anyways, they did a great job at keeping my secret and helped me process it. I had told them it wouldn’t be until the end of the year, but God had other plans. When I finally told my principal that I would be resigning I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. I eventually told my students once it was official and they were upset, one even cried. Talk about breaking my heart into a million pieces!!! They asked questions and I explained to them as best I could. I told each of the parents, and they were all sad to see me leave.

So here we are now and I am no long an Exceptional Education teacher but I am happy and trying my best to encourage anyone and everyone every single day! I did not quit my job without a plan, but you know what they say about making plans. God had a different plan then we did and we are living it the the fullest now.