Other People's Kids

Haitus could be Haitus-ed...

Hello again dear readers, if such there still be in these parts.  I've had a different life the last few years.  We've worked hard, paid off a lot of debt, and raised our Panda during that time.  She is getting to be quite the wonderful young lady these days...five years old and starting kindergarten in a couple of months.

And the winds they are changing again.  I have been working in software, and as my old readers already know I was burned out on that by 2009 or so...which is why I went to school for special education.  I had to give that up around the time of my last post, mostly for financial reasons.

Those financial reasons have been in large part dealt with, and now teaching is weighing heavily on my mind again.  As is my long absence from taking a direct hand in helping kids outside of Panda.  It's a thing you are born with...a thing you *are*.  I don't think you can turn it off...and I'm not sure whether it is a blessing or a curse.  But I simply need to get to a point where I can center my life in some way around helping kids figure out how to become as successful as adults as their native talent and personality allows.  I'm gradually coming to peace with that in myself.

And so...I am currently making arrangements to finish up school next winter/spring by doing my demonstration teaching to complete my masters in special education.  Hopefully I'll be able to begin teaching in or near the new city we've been living in for the 2015/2016 school year.  And none too soon...if I was to start then and teach consistently, with my age and other factors I could still actually retire with full benefits about the time I turn 69.

Strange...like most of the rest of the people I used to know, in my younger years I was convinced I would be wildly successful in my work life and retire by 50 to live the good life.  Now I'm hoping and praying that I could retire with some decent benefits at 69.  And yet...it makes me happy.  After all, not everyone has other benefits outside of Social Security, and some never really get to retire at all.  And I certainly don't mind staying a few years past the usual age.  What would I do with my time?  Watch TV?  Much more entertaining to watch the kids.  And learn from them.  And love them.

As for fostering, well...it was a hard experience before.  The Wife is hesitant to go back into it, and I share some of her nervousness.  When I say it was a hard experience, I mean it was HARD at times.  But there's no reason I can see that we would have to go straight back into it full time either.  And so we've been discussing perhaps getting back with our old agency (who is based in our new city) and see what we could do about becoming a respite home for a while.  Drive-by foster parents, if you will.  Fly-by-night kid wranglers.  Bringers of hope and light to overworked and overstressed foster parents everywhere!

And if all goes to plan and I do teach...well...my schedule will track much more closely than The Wife's will with the kids' schedules.  I'd become the primary foster parent, most likely.  Could be interesting, if that's the way it works out.  We'll see.

posted by Dan @ 3:59 PM