Sometimes I forget...

For the past 15+ years, since having a classroom of my own, my mind is always on new ideas for my class, for lessons, for things to do with my students, for things to share with them.  This past year hasn't changed that.  The thoughts in my head were always just, "When I get back to work, I will....." But now, I'm not going to be going back to my classroom.  I can't use the ideas, lessons, and activities I have been dreaming up in my head over the last year.  That is a hard pill to swallow.  

My cousin was texting with me yesterday and told me about a graduate program at a nearby college.  I was immediately intrigued.  My mind instantly jumped to getting a second Master's Degree, this time specifically in English, to both advance my pay and maybe even my job title.  That thought was quickly squashed as I remembered I'm not teaching anymore, that my degree could be advanced as much as I chose, but it would not be used towards a benefit to my pay or my job title because I no longer had either of those.    

I did have the opportunity to speak in an online meeting to a group of Occupational Therapists last week about my experiences with Long Covid, and it felt so good.  I felt like I was actually teaching again. I was sharing knowledge, adding my own experiences, answering questions, and feeling completely in my element.  Of course, I had to write up a script beforehand of what I was going to say to ensure I was able to stay on track, explain my experience in chronological order, and not lose my train of thought because those are the challenges I face when speaking to people, even in just small groups or in one on one situations.  Obviously, when teaching live, in-person, and in actual classroom settings, a script does not and cannot work.  Interruptions occur, questions get asked, distractions are everywhere, and every minute of every class period of every single day is unpredictable.  

So, I will take whatever opportunities I have to share and to teach and to continue to seek out ways to be an educator in any form.  But sometimes, just for a moment, I forget my limitations, and my brain wanders toward all of the things I still want to do...