The Prodigal Son Returns

Where Do You Start?
As Performed By Bea Arthur

Where do you start?
How do you separate the present from the past?
How do you deal with all the things you thought would last
That didn't last?
With bits of memories scattered here and there
I look around and don't know where to start.

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I know I've posted the lyrics above in a previous post, but they seemed to fit with what I'm trying to do right now. It's been so long since I posted, I don't know where to start. I don't know what to talk about, with all the "bits of memories scattered here and there // I look around and don't know where to start."

I guess I'll go back to July, when I last posted, and try to start from there. Bear with me, this will probably be a long post...

In July, I went home for a visit, and had a pretty good time. It was good to see all of my friends, who I don't get to see very often. It felt very weird to be there, but it feels weird to be here right now, too. I guess I'm still in that uncomfortable "in-between" place, and haven't carved out my niche yet.

In August, I was assigned a new teaching post. I took over a vacant consulting teacher position in our department, and my boss and I changed it into a Post-Release Transition and Life Skills position. Instead of traditional classroom duties, I now serve as a life skills coach for all of the students in our program. I go into each of the classroom sections for one hour each week, and give lessons on important life skills that our inmate students will need once they are released. A lot of what I cover focuses on job skills, but I also manage to talk about anger management, setting personal goals, independent living, and other skills most of these young men have never had. It is a lot of fun, and much more rewarding that my previous post. I am (pretty) good at this new job, and I enjoy getting to work with all of the students, not just a small group. I also get to work with all of the teachers in the department, which is a lot of fun. I get to see a bit of their teaching styles, and how they each handle their classrooms. I'm hopeful that it will help me grow as a teacher.

In late August, I registered to vote in Florida. For the first time in my life, I am now a registered Democrat. I told my parents that I'm a democrat, and my dad seemed to take it well. I thought that he would be upset, but he said he just hoped that I thought carefully before I made any choices for anyone when I vote. I think my dad is softening up as he gets older.

I wanted to come home for Christmas, but I waited too long to ask for vacation time, and I got turned down for the time off. I was pretty upset to be spending another Christmas away from my parents, but I think I got through this Christmas a little better than last year. It probably had a lot to do with the fact I had a job to go to the day after Christmas--last year, I was unemployed. I stayed home and watched movies on Christmas, and made a turkey for myself. It was pretty good, if I do say so myself. I can be quite the cook when I want to be.

I'm hoping to go home sometime in March, but it may be closer to my birthday. I have the vacation time coming to me, I just need to request the time off, and make sure I have the money to come home. I'm getting my tax refund soon and some money the business owes me, so hopefully I'll be able to go home this spring. I never thought it would be this hard to get away.

Though I enjoy my job with the state, I have started looking at some other options to pursue. I'm not sure what I want to be doing in five years, so I am just researching my options. Karen just took a job at Texas A & M, and I am looking at jobs there. I'm also looking at a few jobs at the University of Michigan-Flint, since it would be nice to go back home.

For now, though, I am going to concentrate my efforts on finishing my teacher's certification. My provisional license expires in June 2009, so I need to start taking classes to finish that off. Then, even if I don't want to teach, I'll have it as a resource in my toolkit should I decide to come back to teaching, or whatever. Once I finish that, I'm going to start work on a master's degree. I just haven't decided what I'm going to do it in yet!

Well, that's the last year in a whirlwind. I think I hit the high points. Now that I have semi-reliable internet at the apartment, I am going to try to update much more often. Check back; I hope to update at least once a week.

Oh, and I know I've asked this before, but I'll ask again...since it's been 9 months since I updated, leave me a comment if you read this...I want to know if it actually gets read.