Tonight is a very strange night for me. For the first time in 13 years, I am not going to an Institute Day at Wheeling High School tomorrow. I haven't been procrastinating creating lesson plans. I haven't been feverishly buying Uniball pens and hiding the colored ones so no one steals them. I haven't been worrying about who my new students will be. It's been lovely, to say the least.
But I am feeling a little sad tonight. Part of that is because Steve left for a business trip this afternoon. I miss him already. But I think a bigger part of my sadness is that I will not be starting another school year with my friends at WHS. I love the people I work with at WHS. Our experiences together have been an incredible influence on who I have become since I started working there. And I think by not going to school tomorrow, I might miss out on something.
I hate missing out on anything. Part of the reason I went into and enjoy journalism so much was my love of knowing "things." I love to be "in the know." I often pride myself on knowing the back story of whatever is happening now. As a journalist, you make your living by figuring out the stories. And I have always enjoyed the stories. Just thinking about missing out on the daily stories of WHS brings a tear to my eye. I won't get to meet the new people in the building and learn their stories. I won't get to hear all of the funny stories from everyone's summer.
On the other hand, if I were going to school tomorrow, I'd be missing out on the stories Jack, Reid and Steve are living. And they create some pretty awesome stories. I love meeting Jack's new friends at school and hearing about his day. I love watching Reid laugh when he watches Jack. I love hearing about Steve's work day. I love going to the park with our friends from the Moms group and hearing the funny things other people's kids do.
I guess, when it comes down to it, I'll always be missing something. Physics dictates that I cannot be everywhere at once. So it's all about what I choose to miss. It's not an easy choice. But I think for now, I'm in the right place. As much as I miss my experiences at Wheeling, I think the person I am becoming while I stay at home with my family has some pretty incredible possibilities.
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