A New (sudden!) Chapter...

Most probably noticed from my Facebook feed that yesterday that I wrapped up teaching. Got to celebrate with my favorite - a messy sundae - and the fam, what is in all aspects for now my "retirement" as my mom posted. A couple of weeks ago I'd requested a one-year leave of absence for the next school year, and I was transitioning my life and mentality towards becoming a stay-at-home mom. It all happened, however, about 5 weeks sooner than I had expected!

For those who've been inquiring:  I'd originally planned on making it to Spring Break before officially starting maternity leave. I hadn't been doing so great physically this time around (imagine that - pregnancy is a bit tougher when you're running around after a toddler at the same time LOL). But it's not an easy situation when you only have about 4 days of sick leave to use for 6-8 weeks of maternity, (meaning I'd be paying from my check to fund the sub who would be covering my classes for the remaining time I was out). So going out before the baby came had certain financial repercussions.

Anyhow, our plans were cast aside this week! Woke up at the resort in Temecula on Monday morning, where the hubby and I were enjoying a much-needed Babymoon weekend of relaxation, and hit the bathroom due to a terrible case of food poisoning. I was miserable, and recognized that I was not able to keep any fluids in me. So we checked out and headed straight down to our "favorite" ER. By the time we arrived I was having contractions every 2 minutes - not painful yet, but intense!

(My ER view - we are well-versed in biding out time at the hospital! Stephen had a fun game on his phone to play this time around.)

A full day and night spent in the hospital, getting IV fluids and monitoring the baby really put things in perspective.  My OB strongly suggested not working until the baby comes.  While I was hesitant to leave my job with so little warning, the previous 30 stressful hours made it easy to capitulate.  Stephen was quick to agree, being quite concerned about the safety of Zach and I.  Honestly, if it had been entirely up to him and I'd never have set foot back on campus.  I was sent home eventually, and ordered to bed for the rest of the day.

I was able to negotiate with Stephen my going to work Wednesday solely on the condition that my student teacher (who would also be my maternity long-term sub) would do all the teaching, that I'd sit at my desk with my feet up, drink fluids constantly, and immediately go home if my body was too tired or contractions started consistently again. Even just walking down to the admin office felt like I'd ran a marathon! While I graded papers and completed other tasks from my seat, the hubby was busy on the phone with our district HR and my OB's office. By the time I waddled out near the end of the day and told him I was going home, he told me that they were all in agreement that I needed to pull-the-plug on teaching and start some modified bed rest.

After convincing him that I did indeed need one more day to "get my ducks in a row", I waddled back to find my student teacher to let her know that she'd be officially taking over. (I'd have been better off at home in bed, but any teacher can tell you all about the stress of unexpectedly being out - not to mention for pretty much the rest of the school year!) Yesterday was a bittersweet whirlwind for me, as I had planned on a few more weeks in a job that I loved and leaving as much as a positive impact as possible in my students' lives. At least I was able to get as much organized for my sub as possible and enjoyed a few great conversations with some peeps who I love!

Then God gave me the BEST gift ever - right after school a former student came by, (he'd heard I was leaving) to tell me all about how I'd completely changed his attitude towards math and that he had loved coming to school every day because of his Algebra class. I got to close my door and walk away from 8 years on that note - a validation of my hopes and dreams for the job I'd done and the blood, sweat, and tears that I had invested. How rad is that?!

(My "wall of inspiration" - hoping to get my students motivated to work hard and give themselves opportunities... or at least think about the world outside of Escondido!)

I know that I will be back at some point at the end of the year - whether for a week or so if I'm healthy enough to sit in the room and what my student teacher finish the job that she has taken over, or at least to get my stuff organized and packed up. (That was something else I thought I'd have a few weeks to get done LOL). But for the foreseeable future my "Mrs. Winters, High School Math Teacher" hat is officially retired and replaced with my "Mama" one! (Or as husband would say, my "Baby Cooking" one.)

 And for the immediate future, this is supposed to be my daily view:

It is a bit of relief to not be torn between the worlds of a out-of-the-home job and home. I have a whole freakin' LIST of about a million or so things I needed to get done around the house, but have been too exhausted or sick to even think about. Of course, the hubby has wisely informed me that the point of this rest is not to substitute working at school to working at home... Apparently I am supposed to actually use this time to recuperate, get healthy, and keep Zach cooking 'till his due date. ;0)  Intermittent contractions have continued and keep me grounded - and just waddling up our stairs is enough of a strain on my body to remind me that I was sick enough to be in the hospital just three days ago... Guess I will focus on the projects that I can do in my bed for now!