I love my boss.
As of today, unless something terrible happens, I have a job next year. Three people in my school lost their job today, though, so it really wasn't a good time to celebrate, so I'll do it here:
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!
After all of my pondering, two things happened yesterday that made me realize that I don't want to leave teaching (yet):
1. I caught myself smiling, walking down the hallway at work. Nothing particularly good had just happened. I was just smiling. Because I realized that on most days, work makes me happy.
2. I was chaperoning the chorus concert last night (which I do for free, because I like the kids in chorus) and one of the older special ed teachers, after watching me interact with some of the kids, comes up to me and says, "You know, you strike me as the kind of person who really likes teaching. I couldn't say that about a lot of people who teach."
I hate a lot of stuff about teaching, but I like the kids. I like talking to them. I like their enthusiasm, their energy, their ability to surprise, and the complexity of their personalities. I like that they are open to new things, and I like the challenge of surprising and entertaining them every day.
They also laugh at my jokes. I guess I'll stick around.