A friend asked me this week if I have been happy in my career as a teacher.

At first, I was worried that I had been complaining too much about the job...but that's not the reason she asked.

She's a pharmacist. I'm a teacher. We've known each other for over 25 years. We've talked about everything there is to possibly talk about. I knew her question was a serious one.

I told her that, although I have days that try my soul (usually at the hands of state legislation or administrative issues more than anything else), I couldn't imagine having become anything else. I still work hard to see the "a ha" in a student's face, and I still love to see the improvement of all types of students. Even though I'm getting older, have a little less energy, and have a few (okay, a LOT) more gray hairs, I still look forward to school, still enjoy the students, and still love sharing their success in English/school/sports/life.

I could've become a pharmacist. In fact, in those first few years after college when my friend was making a lot more money than I was, I went through a period of regret about my career choice. As time has passed, though, I have realized that God had a plan for me, and North Newton Jr.-Sr. High School is where it's been happening.

k.