There is life after work. Actually there is life after teaching for 30 years in our broken down, politically charged education system….and Ms. D proves it.
How I loved this post!
I’m not sure how she survived 30 years in education except it must have been for the kids. I’m on my 3rd year (out of retirement) and I am stunned by the amount of energy given over to politics and the pettiness with so little time left for the students.
One of Ms. D’s comments just made me laugh out loud. She is listing things she will NOT miss about her teaching career and this was my favorite – “Endure being told that I am blunt and intimidating because I have decades of experience and am not afraid to say what I think.”
I got that in corporate America with the added insult that my behavior didn’t go down well because, and I quote, “You are a woman.” A-bloody-mazing.
I read then re-read this post of a woman who has and is reclaiming her life and herself and I was so impressed that I had to share it. When I finished I sat in front of my laptop with tears in my eyes and a smile on my face knowing that Ms. D probably saved a whole lot of kids from the trash heap of their parents’ and neighborhoods’ lives, that she endured…despite the odds.
I hope you enjoy this. The Year in Review « FARMHOUSE BY THE FALLS.
Write On Target 
Thanks for passing this on Pat. Much wisdom in that post. It seems like she is having a second (third?) life….
I thought so too. Really loved her writing class with Mary Gordon – bit jealous of that but also glad she had a chance to study with this prolific and excellent writer.