Preface: How I came to be TeacherMom

preface

Pronunciation:

\ˈpre-fəs\

Function:

noun

2: the introductory remarks of a speaker or author

In a book, the preface is the foreword, the back story, the catchup to the present. In a blog, it's all the little details you need just to figure out what the heck said blogger is talking about. In this instance, I, TeacherMom am the blogger who feels you, the reader, needs to know how we got here.

In the little town of Leesburg, on a crisp December morning in the cafeteria of Leesburg High School, TeacherMom, then known simply as Lindsay, met SergeantDad, formerly James. James and Lindsay hit it off and started dating. Their relationship was filled with the typical highs and lows of adolescent relationships that now make TeacherMom roll her eyes a little. However, they survived, and their relationship made it through the ultimate test of love; high school.

After graduating high school, TeacherMom, having known since birth she wanted to teach, made the arduous three hour journey to Florida State University. Though she adored this environment, the distance took a toll on her and SergeantDad's relationship, and the routine trips took a toll on both their wallets. In the end, TeacherMom moved back to the little town of Leesburg, where she continued her education at a nearby community college. Later that year, on their 5 year anniversary, TeacherMom and SergeantDad were married.

Having a knack for getting the ball rolling, five short months after their marriage began, TeacherMom and SergeantDad took the plunge into parenthood. It was not long after this that SergeantDad realized he needed to find a career, and chose corrections as his path. Collin Gregory was born on February 7, 2005. SergeantDad continued to juggle being a part time stay at home dad and work at the prison in the evenings, while TeacherMom worked as an assistant at a local middle school, continued her education at the University of Central Florida, and continued to be Mommy on her off-time.

Around the time SergeantDad was promoted and became a Sergeant, and TeacherMom was on her last year of schooling to become a Teacher, they were wide-eyed with shock at finding out baby number two was on her way. TeacherMom finally graduated from UCF, 2 months before Mia graduated from the womb, and the quest was on to find a job.

Despite laws preventing discrimination, Teachermom found that being a 9 month pregnant woman on the quest for a teaching job was quite a discriminatory process. With no luck, she prayed hard and vowed to not worry about a job until after baby Mia was born. So on the morning of July 17, 2007, TeacherMom went into labor, and was rushed to the Birth Center where baby Mia was born just 45 minutes after their arrival! They were all released to go home at noon.

That very day, as joyous as it was, Teachermom's heart was secretly heavy with worry, as she knew the school year was quickly approaching and she was still without work. Not one hour after arriving home with baby Mia, the phone rang. It was Principal B from a nearby middle school, hoping to get an interview with TeacherMom. Naturally, TeacherMom saw this as her answered prayer and interviewed 3 days later, scoring the job for 8th grade Reading Teacher.

So, since August, TeacherMom works fervently to improve her students' reading scores during the day, and be the best mom she can be during the evenings and weekends. SergeantDad stays at home during the day and keeps inmates in line in the evenings. It's an adventure that never ends.

And that is the story of how I went from being Lindsay to TeacherMom.