so i cried in the "Curves for Women" parking lot...

there are lots of reasons why i may cry in the Curves parking lot, but this is a good one. :)
and i want to get it written down before i forget!
so last week i got a call to interview for the 5th grade teaching position at washington elementary school in muscatine. it came while lisa and i were lounging in the pool with all the kids.
i was ecstatic! 5th grade is my dream grade. i love washington school. it was an unexpected opening and i had kind of given up on getting a permanent job for the fall.
so i was pumped when the principal called to line up an interview.
the interview was set for 9:15 am on tuesday. i was sitting in the parking lot for about 10 minutes before trying to "cram".
i HATE these interviews with a panel of teachers/administrators. i just feel so unqualified. when they ask a question using buzz words that i don't know, or acronyms that i'm not familiar with, i panic. and there are lots of those buzz words and acronyms in the field of education.
but anyway, i took a deep breath and headed in.
their were 6 people seated around the table and a list of questions. i knew all of them. i had subbed lots at this school this year and felt a little more comfortable knowing all their names and faces.
they started going around the table and asking questions. it's so crazy trying to answer some of them when i've never had my OWN classroom. and i graduated 10 YEARS ago. so i feel totally out of the loop. but i just answered the best i could. and told them "i don't know how i will do that", if i didn't know!
then the end came. they asked if there was anything else i wanted to share. and i said, "not really. i just want you to know how excited i am about this opportunity. when i decided to stay home with my kids 10 years ago, it was a bit of a personal sacrifice for me. i had wanted to teach for as long as i could remember. (enter voice cracking and tears flowing...seriously...i cried. so so embarrassing.) and now that i've let myself consider the possibility of having a classroom of my own, it's just overwhelming!" (now enter giggling and apologizing for crying and principal searching for a tissue for me. yes...very embarrassing.)
geez...who CRIES at an interview?? apparently I do. ugh.
anyway, i went on to tell them that after my last job interview, that principal had called to tell me i didn't get the job and after i got off the phone, brigg said, "mom, did you win?" and i had to tell him no...i hadn't won this time. :) they laughed and thought that was pretty cute.
they said they would be in touch and i'd probably have to teach a lesson on thursday at summer school. so be prepared for that.

i decided when i was done and feeling pretty relieved that we should spend the day in davenport. mom and i took the girls to chik-fil-a for lunch and then did a little birthday gift shopping. after we got home, i left the girls with mom while i went to run an errand. as i was driving past CURVES, my phone rang. i saw that it was the principal at washington and i pulled over in CURVES parking lot because i figured i would have to write down a time and instructions for teaching my lesson on thursday.
i answered the phone and they first thing he said to me was "i just wanted to call and let you know that you can tell your son you 'won' this time!"
EEEEEKKKKKKK!!!!
i kept my composure long enough to thank him and discuss where to go from here and then i hung up.
and i literally cried in the "Curves for Women" parking lot. :)
good, happy, relieved tears.
it was kind of awesome.
because honestly, i had a HORRIBLE 1st grade year. seriously traumatized by my teacher. i vowed to become a teacher and never ever be like that when i was 7. i'm not even kidding.
my whole childhood i remember playing school. we had a giant chalkboard in our basement and school desks. i was always the teacher and jennie was my student.
i never wanted to be anything else.
i graduated 10 years ago and pushed that dream to the back of my mind.
and i'm so glad i did.
but this year while subbing it all came rushing back.
that dream of having my own classroom.
and i knew i was ready.
so the fact that i got this job was unreal to me. i didn't even think there would be any positions available this year, let alone a 5th grade position at one of my favorite schools!
it's been an awesome 24 hours. i'm floating on air. i know this won't be perfect and there will be days that i wonder what in the world i was thinking being so excited about getting back into the school, but for today i'm going to let myself float. and enjoy the ride.
i won! :)
and i couldn't be happier!!
gosh...i'm a TEACHER. that's awesome.