Congrats and Happy Birthday

This week is time to celebrate (unfortunately I will not be there with them the celebrate). My dad is officially RETIRED! My dad has been teaching for over 30 years. His last day with students was on Monday. He shocked us all by starting to get rid of stuff weeks ago. Dad, thanks for all the hard work you have done through the years in providing for your family.

Both of my parents grew up with working mothers, but I was fortunate to be raised by a mom who stayed home. She was always there. When I (the youngest) started 1st grade, my mom went back to work as a substitute teacher. Through the years, she got many offers to take a position without having a credential. She always turned them down. As a kid, I never understood why she turned these job offers down. I thought, "You could make so much more money; therefore, we could do more fun things as a family, go on more trips, etc." She would always say something to the affect of, "I do not want to have to bring work home, and I want to be able to take a day off when I need to." If we got sick or were receiving an award, we know that our mom would be there because she would be there. If she was already scheduled to work, she would just cancel her job for that day. Now, I finally understand why my mom never took a true teaching position. I am grateful to my mom and my dad for all the hard work and sacrifice they made for us so that we would have a parent around. Sometimes, my dad worked more than one job to pay the bills. One summer, my dad could not work (he was a teacher and I believe all the summer school positions were filled), so he became Mr. Mom for the summer while my mom worked. During that summer, he gained great appreciation for my mom and what she does.

I am grateful that I married a man who knows of my strong desires to be a stay-at-home-mom when we start having children. I look forward to the day when we can start a family, and I know that come hell or high water, I will be able to stay home and raise my children.

Today is also my mom's birthday. I hope she and my dad are enjoying themselves this week. I wonder if they are having a trashing party and getting rid of 30+ years of teaching material. I love you both. You mean the world to me.