After three years of teaching, I was ready to join the ranks of the statistics and leave the professional world of education forever. Bogged down by papers to grade, biweekly deficiency slips to complete, and committee meetings or after-school conferences to attend, I soundly realized this "teaching" thing was not boiling down to my idea of a career. With no classroom, I was tired of rolling around my cart and taking up residence in the teacher's lounge. I found life as the copy doctor, the coffee maker, the custodian, the parking lot patrol, and the lunch room duty attendant less than appealing. I felt as if I was doing everything but teaching. Surely, I thought, there's a better job out there than this? Consequently, I took out what little retirement I had and at 25 became a retired Missouri teacher. Knowing, as just about all retired teachers know, that I couldn't live on my retirement, I rolled up my sleeves and became a Starbucks Barista at the local Barnes and Noble. I now spent my days filling out orders for caramel macchiato's and iced mocha's and working full time on a master's degree. Life was bliss.
And then somewhere between an Irish creme latte and a non-fat breve, Manley called.
...and you'll get the rest of the story later. :)
