Well, that is a long story. So much. Many tears on behalf of loved ones (no one died, though) and work situation. Loneliness, frustration, anger, despair.
However, it's over and done--I've moved on (literally and figuratively) and much has improved. Personally, Robert and I had been living separately because he was hired by a small rural community action program to be their chief financial officer. We still had our house in Kansas City and he was working/living in Hiawatha during the week and coming home on the weekends. Less than ideal in several ways. Most of the time it was just my son and I at home (eldest daughter being away at college much of the year) and I felt much like a single parent. Son was at a good college-prep school and we didn't want to take him out of that. Also, when Robert first started working in Hiawatha as a contractor, the housing market was poor, so we didn't think we could make a good deal on our house if we sold it.
So, long story short, we finally moved to Hiawatha this last summer. I quit my job with the Olathe school district and was hired by the South Brown County district to teach English 9/10 and yearbook at tiny Horton High School. My son transferred to Hiawatha high school for his senior year and we bought a house. Our KC house sold in three days (!!!) and went for over the asking price. Hard to believe but true! The new house needed some work (still does) but is larger by about 100 sq. ft. and has a two-car garage. The town is absolutely beautiful and so far I love living here.
In the summer, Hiawatha (The Beautiful City of Maples) has lovely tree-lined streets with sidewalks almost everywhere. The dog and I explored many of them and look forward to warmer temps (must be at least in the positive numbers) so we can resume our exploration. There is a hospital and a Wal-Mart, but most importantly a movie theater. It's a two-screen theater, but movies are movies. There is also a thriving theatrical society (HAATS) and the majority of people I've met so far have been pleasant and intelligent. Many people commute out for work and drive back home to live. So far, I've seen every type of house imaginable and they are all interesting in some way. All are different architecturally from each other and though some are poorly maintained, those few are interspersed with beautiful homes which somehow makes the poor ones not so bad.
As for my profession, for the first time ever, I've had students say they enjoy English! It's a real rush and an incentive to be creative and energetic in my field. I look forward to going to work and really enjoy my students and co-workers. This year, also for the first time ever, I have a textbook to fall back on that's thoughtfully put together and full of good resources. Since I already have plenty of teaching resources in my personal toolkit, this year has gone pretty smoothly. Still a bit of a learning curve, but I'm having fun.
My son is doing well at his new school and for the first time ever has joined an activity--scholar's bowl. He had friends before, but here he has made some new friends already and seems much more contented than he did in Kansas City. Less stress and he is back together with his father again. That's been good for all of us, of course.
As I write this on the last day of Christmas break, I look forward to what 2018 will bring. Whatever that may be, I face it with my family together.
