We got the itch... again!

I've been travelling since I was nineteen years old and left home for the first time for the Navy. The Navy taught me many things including not to be too settled in your location because you never know when you will move again.

I have seen some beautiful places that some country girls only see in books and on television. I explored Chicago. I wandered through the souq in Bahrain. I teed off in Augusta, GA. I taught English in Japan. I returned home for a few years to move again to Cincinnati, OH.

Cincinnati, Ohio has been a wonderful place to raise the girls, but we got the itch. I have a great job working at Village Christian School. It was my very first job after graduating from OVU. In fact, I had accomplished the impossible by graduating on Saturday and hired by Monday afternoon. I taught 4th through 12th grade science. I was highly qualified in every science except for Chemistry and Physics. My typical workload ranged from eight to ten preps a day.

YIKES!

I loved it! I still love the staff and the kids. It was a challenging site, but I learned about compassion, grace and love. I was able to see students that couldn't read, begin to read. I saw girls start to put value in their education more than their bodies. Student growth was apparent there. 

The job search started with jobs overseas working in the Department of Defense Schools. That idea was a bust; there were no vacancies posted. I guess once you are in their system, you never want to leave it. I looked at teaching English overseas. I loved living in Bahrain and there were several jobs in Dubai. Then I found a job teaching science in the US Virgin Islands. Oh my! I could enjoy the beach, the sand and sun. It was definitely on my short list of jobs. 

One night I was doing random searches on the computer when I found jobs in Alaska. Tundra, salmon, ocean, arctic organisms, Northern Lights were words and pictures that flooded by brain. It was with the support of my husband that I started researching districts. Then I researched taxes, passports, travel dates, flights, cost of living, medical insurance, medical care, fishing, hunting and more. It all led up to me applying for an Alaskan teaching license. I applied for several jobs at Alaska Teacher Placement. 

Its exciting to have this opportunity and the support of my husband and kids. Its sad because I truly will miss my co-workers at VCS. I have had a wonderful time working for them. For now though, we have an itch and need to move on. Love you all!

**This post was reprinted from the journal that I was keeping while searching for a job.