…and I don't have to leave the house. It's the second day “officially” of my new job. I am now the manager of the Mashpee Koko FitClub and I couldn't be more thankful to God or more excited about the new challenge. Last night when I locked the door and walked to my car, I just sighed and said to myself, “I'm not in Harwich, it's not 7 pm, and I don't have a 40 minute drive home on that Cape highway.” I felt nothing but peaceful thanks for those physical amenities. I now wake up to my beloved morning routine of leaving to work out at about 8-8:30am. The big difference is when I'm done, I put on makeup, change my clothes, and work in the same place all day. No more driving a million miles a week in all kinds of weather all over this cape. I now work 10-6 everyday, except Wednesday which is 8-3, and I can't be happier.
That's the physical perks. The mental and emotional perks far outweigh them. I finally get to stay in one place to thoroughly get to know one group of people. I finally get to take ownership of one club instead of trying to balance two. I love being able to leave at night knowing I'll be back the very next day and what I didn't finish, can be done tomorrow. Essentially – in teacher language – I have my own classroom back. I'm home again. These years without that classroom and children to teach have been hard on me emotionally. I haven't been able to put that passion for teaching on the shelf or redirect it into other things. For 3 years, both God and you (in this blog) have watched me struggle to redirect that which is so much a part of me to things that were so much not a part of me and never would be, no matter how hard I persisted.
I don't want to “work”. I want to get up every morning with that old “it's a brand new day” and enter my classroom filled with all I'm going to accomplish with my students. I want to be the master of crafting those individual learning paths and watch amazing progress again. This new job provides that. Yesterday I worked with two women who just came back after an extended absence from their exercise program. One said her doctor told her to get her ass back into that place that she is paying for and not using. She said her doctor told her she was going to be very sorry in the future if she didn't get back in there. We connected over that conversation and I welcomed her back into the club and told her we would be spending the winter together. I must've said that to at least five women yesterday. And we will – spend the winter together – learning from each other and maintaining health, because I will BE THERE. In one place. Not leaving them and racing to Harwich and beyond.
And so, as another day goes by, Pharrell, Janice*, also rings in my head, because for the first time since I retired five years ago I can honestly say “because I'm happy,” and…I have written.
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