I'm happy to report that after 13 different substitute assignments,  I don't yet resemble the woman in this picture.  Partly because I have spent most of those 13 days in the elementary school, the middle school I taught at, my son's middle school and my son's high school. I don't have any horrendous stories to share.  My biggest challenges have been my own child addressing me by my first name in his English class and a second grader farting in his classmates face. (The primary grades are definitely not where it's at for me.)

One of my relatives, a retired teacher, sent me an email asking about my future plans.  I told her that no jobs have been recently posted so in the meantime I continue to enjoy subbing.  She replied: Umm...... "subbing and enjoy don't usually go in the same sentence."  From the horror stories I've heard, this is typically true but for right now it really is the best of both worlds.  I can say no if I don't feel like working and when I do take an assignment, it's like an auction (if you check the website and see a job posted, you know you need to snatch it up or someone else will in the next five minutes) followed by an acting job.  Each time I click on "accept" I get to take on a role pretending to be someone I'm not.  I've been the elementary school librarian, a seventh grade math teacher, a high school P.E. teacher and a second grade teacher.  Each job has its pros and cons but all of them mean I get to spend the day with kids which is so energizing--even when they try to get away with their typical antics because I'm the clueless sub.

As my student teaching was nearing the end, I often said I hoped to get a short term leave replacement. This seemed like the best way to get your feet wet without having to make a contractual commitment. Last month, one of these positions came open at the alternative high school.  It was a maternity leave that would start after spring break and end in June.  I got an interview along with three other candidates but they ultimately chose the teacher who student taught in that classroom last year.  It made perfect sense but I did feel a sting of rejection.  Even though it's not where I ultimately want to be, I thought it wouldn't hurt my resume and would challenge me in ways beyond my limited scope of high school experience.  But, alas, God has other plans so I'll continue to enjoy the ride and see what's on the horizon.  Who knows, I might have ended up looking like the woman in the picture at the beginning of this post.

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