Bloganuary writing prompt
What’s the thing you’re most scared to do? What would it take to get you to do it?
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I’ve been working on this one for a while and feel like it’s a good Slice of Life blog!

This prompt came up and it just set cascading thoughts through my head, so I’ll get a start now before the kids come to class and see when I can finish it up.

Honestly, on my list of scary things, I’ve done the most scary thing (in my own head) twice: moved school districts. The first time, it was from Missouri back to Iowa. My first teaching job was in a rural native village (Unalakleet) in Alaska. While this was scary, my wife and I were young, stupid, and didn’t know any better. We knew these were jobs that wouldn’t keep us away from home for a long time, and we were right.

We moved from Alaska to Missouri and established ourselves with a really awesome group of friends. We traveled around together, drank an enormous amount of beer and wine together, and just enjoyed each other’s company to the fullest. When the time came to make the decision on whether to stay or move closer to home, that was scary. It’s one of the few “what ifs” that we talk about in our lives, what if we had stayed, rather than moved back. That was scary to uproot ourselves away from the great group of people and a place that just felt like home.

We’ve been here for 24 years now, had another daughter, watched both grow up into beautiful young adults, moved from town out to the country, and experienced so much from our move. But, looking back, it was scary.

As I’ve said before, I thought I would retire from the district that I moved to. However, life throws you these opportunities that you never, in a million years, would have guessed you’d take on. 10 years ago, I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. Then, this past spring, I interviewed for a position in a neighboring district. Between my salary and the benefits package they offered, I would make the same money. When I was offered the job, there was a BIG old panic attack, because I couldn’t imagine myself as anything but a Tiger. My wife and I talked about it. And talked. And talked some more.

I’m Mr. Routine. I don’t like change. Not. One. Bit. And what this was asking me to do was to leave all that I was comfortable with, my friends, the relationships that I’d built with families and other teachers, my principal, and jump out of the plane and hope things would be ok.

Do you want to talk about scary? I’m 52 years old. I’m set in my ways. I could have just coasted the last few years. But we made the choice that I’ll take this new adventure, and oh what an adventure it’s been so far. By the time I retire, I think I’ll be feeling comfortable with this position. Right now, about once a week, I feel like I’m being ineffective for EVERYONE, Spanish and English speakers alike. However, I feel renewed in what I am doing. I feel like there are new challenges left to conquer and new things to learn (Spanish anyone??). It was a heartwrenching decision because I left behind a lot that can never be recreated.

So, what’s the scary thing you’ve done? 🙂