Things are tough in the world of teaching lately. If you read my earlier post “The People Who Keep Me Sane,” I spoke a lot about how my colleagues are just about the only thing keeping me going this year. Well, that’s even gone now. Everyone is so stressed right now that the happy family I once felt so apart of is falling apart. There are a select few of us who are seeing things go downhill and we have no clue how to fix it. There is this constant black cloud hanging over the school each day. We work at a small community school that used to be a ray of sunlight but that light is fading so quickly that is makes mw want to (and has made) me cry. It’s not fun at all anymore. I am staying out of a sense of reponsibility to both the students and myself. I am looking for a way out and have started my path to my master’s degree so that I can have other choices. I am sinking into a depression, causing a lack of sleep and random sobbing episodes. Meanwhile, my husband is in Afghanistan until the end of March, when he will be home for R&R. He is trying to be supportive but there is only so much he can do over the phone. He did, however, make an appointment for me at the spa for a whole Saturday afternoon. I am very excited because I would never have called and made an appointment myself. It’s nice to have something to look forward to for once. It doesn’t take the place of laying with him on the couch on a lazy Saturday, though. A lot is happening right now and it kills me that I can’t find an immediate way out. I will do what my husband is doing right now, suck it up and be a soldier until the changes can be made. I love you Joey! I will see you on the other side of this all, stronger!