October 2010, we closed our bakery up in Washington. The lease was over, we looked into moving our store, but realized that it was best to just close it and move on with our lives. January 2011, Christopher helped open and manage a new Great Harvest in Olympia. we were at a crossroads--do we stay in Everett so I could keep my full-time job, move to Olympia so Chris could keep managing the new bakery, move back to Utah and hope that both of us could find jobs? We made all sorts of lists of pros and cons. We went back and forth trying to make a decision. February 2011 we made our final decision that we would be moving back to Utah where Chris was offered his old job back managing the Bountiful bakery.
In going back to Utah, we both needed to be working in order to pay off our bakery debts. I didn't think I could go back to teaching right away since my teaching license had expired while we were in Washington. I figured I could find another job in property management, take a few classes, and reinstate my license so I could teach after a year or so.
When an old mission friend heard that we were moving back, she suggested that I apply for a job teaching elementary school in a French Dual Immersion school. She was in her first year as a kindergarten teacher speaking to her kids in French 50% of the time. She said there was a school just starting the program and they were looking for teachers who spoke French fluently. The minute she first told me about this opportunity, I knew in my gut I would get the job. I knew this opportunity would bless our family.
So I applied, had two phone interviews while we were still in Washington. We made the move down to Utah the end of March 2011, and by the first part of April during my first face-to-face interview, I was offered the job.
I am extremely grateful for this opportunity. First, to get a teaching position even though my license had expired was a blessing.
Second, to find a full-time French teaching job is rare and I was lucky to find one.
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| On our way to our first day of kindergarten |
Third, I was informed that since Sam would be five and starting school, he would be allowed a boundary variance to be a kindergartner in the French Immersion program at my school. That was my dream--that Sam would get the chance to learn French and become fluent, and now it is coming true. Since Sam was tiny we have taught him French here and there, but now he is immersed in French every day. He constantly amazes us with the sentences he is putting together in French so naturally. He's conjugating verbs without even knowing it! Ah, it's my absolute dream come true!
Fourth, even though I am a working mom, I get paid to spend time with Sam since he is in my class. I was nervous at first to teach him, but he is so social that he just does his own thing. He calls me Madame Taylor just like all the other kids. I think many of his classmates have forgotten that he is my son.
Fifth, the person hired on as the 1st grade French immersion teacher at my school is a girl I knew from my mission over nine years ago. Acutally Chris knew her too. She was an American living in France for her dad's job. In fact, Chris and I (and all the other missionaries from our branch) spent Thanksgiving at her family's house since the French don't celebrate it. It was so comforting to see a familiar face as we both started teaching in this new program. Along the same line, it has been wonderful to have my old mission friend who is now in her 2nd year teaching kindergarten with this program, so we can share a lot of ideas.
Sixth, although teachers don't get paid super well, it is enough for us to be able to work on paying off bakery debts. Since basically last November we have paid down a significant amount of debt. In just a couple weeks we will pay off our third bakery debt, and we should be completely debt free by next January if not sooner. Although we have more than doubled our income, we are trying to live as frugally as we did as poor small business owners in Washington.
Seventh, my school is only 4.3 miles away and takes 8-10 minutes to get to. When I taught middle school French, my commute was 30 minutes, and for me, that is way too long. We value short commutes--I mean really, when we had our bakery, it was just around the corner one block. When I worked for the apartments in Everett, I just had to go downstairs to the office. I don't think I could ever go back to a 30 minute commute.
I could go on and on about how good this job is for us. I just feel an overwhelming amount of gratitude for this opportunity. And when I get stressed out about work, I pause and reflect on how blessed I am that I even have a job I can stress over.
We are halfway through the school year, and I can still say that this is my dream job. Sometimes as I'm there with the kids, I stop and think how amazing it is that I am actually getting paid to do this thing that I love.
A year ago I would never have dreamed that I would be teaching kindergarten in French. A year ago, I didn't even know something like this existed. It's amazing how much can change in just a year. I wonder what this upcoming year will bring.
Here are a few pictures of my classroom:
