Rewind to this time last year...what was life like for you?
This time last year I had no idea I would be grabbing my teaching bag with my 3 year old in tow and turning out the light of my classroom after a full day of working with students for the last time. A year ago I was teaching preschool as a way to be closer to my kids as they each went through their preschool years and fun way to hang on to my education background just a little bit longer as I pursued photography. I loved working with my class of 4 and 5 year olds and getting to see my own kids on the playground as they built friendships and grew in their independence. It was the perfect mix of motherhood, teaching, and growing my business. Don’t get me wrong...it got crazy sometimes juggling all those hats at once, but I loved the opportunity watch my kids grow while also growing my business and filling my teacher heart. I had big plans to hang on to my classroom long enough to see all my kids grow through the program and reach elementary school years while slowly growing my photography business along the way...well you know what they say about plans...little did I know a pandemic would shut us down and through other circumstances close our preschool completely sending me head on into full time photography way before I had dreamed.
It was such a weird time...when we were finally allowed back in our classrooms in May to pack our things, I walked into a classroom frozen in time. Little winter coats were still hung on their hooks. Art work still lined the walls. The calendar still read February. Valentines decorations were still hung on the bulletin board. I wouldn’t get a chance to say goodbye to that sweet class in person, to give them their diplomas and send them off to kindergarten. I wouldn’t get a chance to gather with my coworkers for a final farewell before we all went our separate ways, off on new adventures. I had always planned to let go of my classroom a few years down the road to pour all of my efforts into photography because that’s always been the dream, but the teaching chapter of my life just ended so suddenly...it’s so weird to think about what our life was like a year ago. A life full of soccer schedules and activities and house church meetings and lesson plans and hustling with my business on the weekends. Then in the blink of an eye tornados ripped through Nashville and the next week all the schools closed, quickly followed by the rest of the city and the whole world...it almost feels like a weird dream.
As challenging as this year of quarantine has been with three littles and as heartbreaking as it was to end my teaching career so abruptly and unfinished, I am so thankful for the time we’ve spent together as a family (a prayer answered in a drastically different way than I imagined) and the push God gave me through this experience to say goodbye to a teaching career I loved to grab onto my photography dream with both hands and use it to bless so many other people. I love what I do and I can’t wait to see where God takes this business next as I trust him every step of the way.
Here's a little throwback to my preschool teaching days...
My little classroom and some of my teaching partners:
^ We always had fun doing science experiments together ^
I loved getting to see my boys during the day on the playground and in the hallways. It was so fun to get to watch them grow and make friends. They LOVED school!
I had such a fun time looking back through pictures at a glimpse of how much life has changed in a short amount of time.
What was your life like a year ago?
Comments