The beginning

It had been one of those days. I'm a teacher yet more and more frequently I seem to be teaching less and babysitting more. So many students come to school with huge amounts of emotional baggage from home-things we aren't prepared to deal with in a normal lesson. I can see why they act out and can't learn but by the end of the day I am still frustrated, and overwhelmed. I miss the days when teachers taught, students learned, and parents did what they could to help their kids. I am certainly not saying no parents do this, but too many are just not there to give their children the support, the love, the caring, and the discipline that the majority of us were lucky enough to have. I left school-wondering if I had reached any of them today-and afraid that the answer was no. When I opened the door there were my children, rushing to the door to welcome me home. One son grabbed my hand, pulling to his room to show what a great job he had done picking up his toys. The baby laughed and raised his arms for me to pick him up. He hugged and held on as we admired my 4 year olds room :) My husband raced past out the door to his job, stopping for the goodbye kiss that seems to amount to the majority of our time together. Things have to change. I want to be there for my children, I want to see my husband, I also know I need a job to pay the bills. So, MysteriousMenagerie was born. I have until May (the end of the school year) to show my husband that I can make money online. If I can, I can stay home and join the growing ranks of teachers that have moved on. Will it work? I don't know, but I'm going to try.