My Random Keys

Hopefully, I haven't been coming across as Eeyore these last few weeks when mentioning the looming job loss. Tonight, however, is a low night and it sucks, but there was a ray of sun at the end...

This evening, the Austin ISD school board voted to officially eliminate 900+ jobs in the district. In that group was my entire Educational Technology department. All of us. Fourteen people that took care of all the instructional technology support and training needs for 6,000 teachers, 84,000 students, and 120+ campuses. Even sitting in the meeting tonight at the board room, a teacher turned around to say how sorry she was about our department and then proceeded to ask a tech question about Google Docs in her classroom.  It's my belief that that type of help will be very hard to find when we are gone.

I'm sad to lose the family that I've been working with for three years and have known for many more. Several of us are single income families. One's wife is also losing her job at the same time. We look after each other and I have a hard time imagining a better working environment than I've been experiencing. (Well, maybe if Jenn Anniston and I were working a the Apple store together, but Marian wouldn't like that. ;)

Anyway, I'm feeling down at the conclusion of the meeting. For the second time this evening, I was asked to be interviewed by local news person and I had to say no.. in fear of making waves and becoming unemployable.  It's at that point that I realize I don't have my keys; the keys that have a building master in the set. I look around for them and am tracing my path back to the truck when my phone rings. It's the Austin Police Department at my house calling me. My garage and front door are open and they wanted to know if I knew it.  My heart has dropped and is now racing around my chest like a Sunday afternoon at Nascar.

Within the next 5 minutes, APD says they toured my house and found nothing disturbed and electronics still there. They locked it up and left. I found my keys under the front seat in my truck. (Thank God for keyless entry.) And my girlfriend calls lending a soothing voice to my evening. Once home, I find all is in place and normal.

Yes God, I hear you loud and clear. What seems to be terrible will eventually turn out okay, given time and faith. I know that eventually, I will get a job. It may not be what I was planning, but God laughs at our plans. I will probably lose income in my next position, but it's a reminder to focus on him and not the material things. It's going to take more than 5 minutes this time, but I have to give up my troubles to Him and I will get through this and survive.

Sometimes, I wish God would just mail me a postcard instead of making me live through his little reminders.  ..but I'm listening anyway.

Just to keep the hit count coming on the Google "Thankful" term search, I figured I'd through a couple of items together for the annual Thanks! list.

1) Thankful for two great mancubs. My kids have had to deal with more than I ever did as a child, and they continue to make me a proud daddy with their attitude, intelligence, and their love of family.  I need nothing more in this world than these two gifts.

2) I'm thankful for my girlfriend, even though she is displaced Texan some 1,300 miles away. She is a very smart and pretty woman who is a devoted mother and good friend to me. She keeps me on my toes and helps me when times are tough.

3) Thanks for my understanding family. My immediate family has always been there for me through my past hardships and continues to support me today. But I also consider a good number of people outside that blood connection as family whom I'm thankful for. The number of virtual 'Brothers and Sisters' and adopted nieces and nephews that consider our connection on of family has been a source of strength for many years. I'm thankful that my large 'family' can put up with my life's roller coaster and still want to stay buckled in for the next go around.

4) Thanks to God for the strength to be the person I choose to be and not just the person I happen to be.  I have been, and my choices have been, sometimes judged foolish or short-sighted. While I make more than my share of mistakes in the world, I believe that accepting the challenges laid before me and choosing to live life without anger, spite, or malice is a much healthier outlook and better example for my kids.  That's not to say that I don't get angry, but how I act on that is what I try to focus on. I'm thankful that I'm generally successful in that endeavor.

5) Lastly, for this list, I'm thankful for my job. I have a great job that allows me to remain active with the classroom experience while not having to actually do grades.  I'm able to still work with some of the best teachers in the country while I advocate for a successfully high level technology integration during instruction.  I'm able to be creative, useful, and provide a level of instructional support that greatly undervalued in many school districts. With major budget cuts coming again, one never feels 100% secure, so I'm glad for my job and the income it provides for my small household and hope to continue to be seen as a productive part of this district and an active agent for student achievement and instructional support.

Well, I'd better post this up so I can help prepare the big dinner for today.  Every day is a great day to give thanks, but today I remain especially thankful.