I'm Moving to Florida!!

I'm excited, scared, eager, anxious, curious and terrified. Please God, give me the teaching position that's a perfect fit. Help me to know it's the one!

I really believe in a higher power guiding my steps. 

But in the meantime, there's SO MUCH TO DO!

How do I get it all done with a broken foot?

So many questions: What do I leave behind? What do I take with me? 

I wish I knew where I'll be teaching before I pack the trailer. I have so many things that I'm willing to share and give away, but if I need them, will want to hang on to them. 

I hope wherever God plants me, I'll be able to bloom. 

What would be the perfect teaching position?

I think, first of all, I'd like to teach in a school that feels like a family. A school with a growth mindset attitude and that's not afraid to have some fun. I'd love to have some co-workers to laugh with and collaborate creatively with. I'd love to work with teachers who are passionate about the art of teaching and who really care about kids. I definitely want to teach at a school that practices restorative discipline instead of punitive. And I'd love to have principals like the ones I have now -- who listen more than judge. Who treat their teachers with grace and fairness. And who work hard to communicate with kindness and respect. 

And I really hope God can place me where I can use my creativity to create meaningful, relative, interactive lessons. Is there such a place in public education? Maybe God can make it happen. I know He's always up to something good. 

I know I want a self-contained classroom, whether special education or 3rd/4th/5th grade or middle school. 

I'm excited to live among palm trees and beaches. I'm not excited about the bugs and alligators. 

I will have to learn to adjust to living in a house a stone's throw from another, bumper to bumper traffic, and a lack of green scenery due to sprawling neighborhoods in the suburbs. I will no longer travel on long lonely roads with miles of green fields on each side. I will miss this rural way of life, probably more than I can realize. 

But maybe, just maybe, kids are kids wherever I go. They need to know someone loves them and cares for them. They need to know they can keep trying and reach their goals. 

And maybe southern hospitality is a real thing and I'll soon feel at home in that new strange land. 

I'll keep you posted! I can't wait to see where the path leads me!