"You have no idea how many times I plotted poaching you from (your employer), but apparently, that isn't "professional"

And that's how two weeks ago I began my path for today.

A friend of mine that I helped teach in a peer mentorship program more than twenty years ago posted that they needed a reading specialist at her school. I did what I always do when someone in the education field posts a position, whether I'm interested or not:

I replied with "tempting..." elipses and all.

She replied that she felt I was a good fit, and asked what I was up to. I'd told her that I had been teaching special education and had been looking at moving to a different location. She reminded me that her sister worked there and that her nephew attended there, and she inquired as to the age range I preferred working with.

About this time, the special education director popped in with a quick message to reach out to her. Her name looked really familiar, particularly her last name. I quickly visited her profile, and realized I'd been the teacher of both of her husband's kids.

The friend then chimed in that we'd get along well, to which I replied that we'd actually met several times. It was then that she hit me with the quote above, which I'd have a hard time describing how it felt to hear that.

To go on a bit of a tangent, I loved what I did and where I did it, to the extent that I still think about going back despite the lingering trauma. The school was one of two worlds, however. one of parents and other staff who see the work you put in with their kids and your students lavishing you with praise while administrators beat you down with important (albeit pesky) paperwork requests such as tracking down parents to come in for meetings, reaching out to get signatures from parents on forms, all for regulatory reasons, which was a big part of their job. Surely, there's more to unpack here that'll be an entry later on.

We arranged to meet today, with them buying me lunch and discussing a bit about their program. After meeting up with the special education director in the main office, she led me out into the hallway, where I gave a side hug to the friend of mine that made the post that led me there. It had been more than 6 1/2 years since I'd last seen her.

I met with the special education director and asked about her stepsons that I had taught. I was thrilled to see that they were thriving and doing well. She asked me what I was looking for in my next job (similar to my previous experience, but somewhere else), what I wanted to do if I were to work there (something behavior modification related) and asked what I was making, to get an idea for matching it. She twice commented that she felt confident that she could match it. We discussed the changes at her sons school, the difficulty of keeping people in special education, her path into the field and her time at the school.

At this time, the friend messaged her that lunch was there, and we met in a conference room for burritos. I got to catch up with my friend about her life and share in the way we met at an internship while still in grade school. As an aside, it was great to see two people that I knew during the pandemic, because I've had plenty of frustration over closer friends refusing to do anything social with trusted people, all while prioritizing activities with individuals who may be behaving in a way that's more risky.

We concluded the lunch with a photo together, which she sent to the supervisor who we worked with back then. It's odd that our paths had crossed so much recently through her relatives (her sister working at the other school I was considering and running into and talking with another sister at my high school reunion back in August. Heck, I'm even composing this entry on the bottom of a word document used to compose a poem that she and the sister from the reunion collaborated on a few weeks ago!

Before leaving, I gave the special education director my number, where she said she'd be able to discuss it with her supervisor and they'd get back to me.

I came home to a message from the friend of mine who is trying to recruit me for his facility. Realistically, I like how close that location is, some of the people and former students I'd be working with and sticking closer with what I've been trained in for the last twelve years. On the other hand, it seems the job at the school I visited today is a different kind of challenge, possibly 'easier' working directly with people I know, but a longer drive in the other direction. I really don't know what I'm going to do, but it does feel good to be courted, valued and told that you do a great job when you're made to feel that you aren't.

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