It's been a strange week. On Tuesday, I picked up one of my dearest friends at the airport because she is working in Cincinnati this week (she lives in Mississippi)> We worked together for nearly 8 years before I was laid off. Another former co-worker (and dear friend) joined us at the hotel where they are working this week. We set everything up and I helped with some of the technical problems that inevitably arise. After a late dinner because we couldn't solve the immediate problems we came back to the hotel and messed with it some more. It didn't take us long to solve the problem now that we were fed and had taken a break from it... Sometime in those 5 or so hours it occurred to me that for the first time in almost 3 years, I really did not miss that job. I didn't miss the problems, the a$$ kissing, the missing parts, the late nights the stress. I did (and do) miss my friends. Friends however are there whether the job is or not. It was the first time in three years that I am reconciled to not working in education anymore. On the heels of that came the realization that I am relieved.

I realized that I no longer believe that the education system in this state or in the country will ever be fixed. We have become increasingly complacent and neglectful of the education system to the point that decades of misuse use have made it nearly extinct. So I struggle with my youngest child to get him through high school and into a field that he loves, and I struggle with young co-workers who can't add and subtract, they can't write to save their lives and spelling and grammar are just words that they know. They make fun of me when I correct them and they don't care if they ever do things correctly... This is our future.

So now I go to work in a job that isn't really for me and I do the best job I can, and maybe in some small way, I can set an example for these kids. On how to make a future no matter what hand you are dealt.