Saying Goodbye

It’s been about 2.5 months since I quit my job as an Early Childhood Educator. During this time I have reflected on my decision. Was it the right thing to do? Absolutely.

I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia last year. Let me say that it is comforting to know there’s a name to go along with the pain I was enduring every day. Chronic pain that defies you to try and live a normal life. It is like having someone in your face every minute of every day .You wake up ready to begin your day, when you are faced with the reality that pain has become your best friend. Simple things like showering and getting dressed and packing my things I never gave thought to.. Suddenly they took so much strength. You take pain-free moments for granted, when suddenly your back seizes. Your knee gives way, and the pain is swooshing through your body faster than a kid going down the playground slide.

I love children and so it was a natural progression to study for my E.C.E, part time, while working with children full time. It was during this period that my marriage broke up. Three years of night school and I graduated.

The 5 years I taught Junior Kindergarten were a freeing for me. I had an awesome working relationship with my co-worker. I developed bonds with the many children I worked with. Meeting the parents and developing a professional relationship with them was a facet of my job that I embraced.

Saying goodbye to being an ECE was something I had been mulling over, as fibromyalgia invaded my world more and more. I had a great run as a teacher, but now it was time to reinvent myself.