I teach, therefore I am

My mom, MIL, SIL, and BIL are all teachers in PA. I'm not sure how things work in other states, but in PA, once you put in you 2-3 years for tenure, you are pretty much guaranteed a job for life. Yes, you may have to switch grades, or teach a different subject for awhile, but you have a job. Unless you commit a crime, you don't have to ever worry about missing a paycheck. On top of that, if you were a student athlete and can coach in your old school district, psh, forget it, no one else even has a SHOT at that position. Sad, but true. My mom and MIL are even Special Ed teachers, which are probably the most stable jobs on the planet right now.

So, I get a little annoyed when employment issues come up. No one is entitled to any particular job. Job security is pretty much non-existent out here in the real world. I was more fortunate than most, because at least my positions followed the stipulations of NIH funding grants, so I at least had the opportunity for longer contracts. Of course, that was also when Bush was in office, and the only research grants he wanted to issue were ones that involved anthrax or biological terrorism. :::rolls eyes:::

Whenever the issue of searching for a new job comes up, all I hear is "well, you can't move". Really. Can't I? Jobs don't come to YOU, you go to THEM. If you have to move across the country, it sucks, but what other choice do you have? Short of someone paying us a "we want you to live in PA" salary, we follow the jobs, not the other way around. Moving is probably the most stressful thing that I have ever done, and it was bad enough moving from MD to PA with an 18 month old. I can't even fathom what a move across several states, into an unfamiliar regional culture, with TWO kids would do to a person. God love ya LB for considering a move to Texas with FIVE!

I LOVE where I live, and we built our dream home here on almost 2 acres 3 years ago when we moved back from MD. It would truly break my heart to leave this all behind, it would. But unfortunately, life sometimes has other plans for you. Sometimes being a responsible adult sucks, but you do what you have to do. We're our OWN family now, so when we make a decision, we make it together and follow the road wherever it takes us. Will we stay here forever? Your guess is as good as mine. For now, we are fortunate enough to be able to remain in Pa, but we'll never know what the future holds until we get there.

The next time we are faced with a potentially tough decision, I just hope that people realize that we KNOW it sucks, so don't make us feel even worse about it.