[Not Going] Back-to-School

Today marks the first day of the 2016-2017 school year for many teachers and students in Minnesota; however, this does not include me being I was granted a leave of absence for this school year.  My summer flew by with time spent with family, an occasional trip to Little River to work on Windbird, and bimonthly visits and outings with a coworker.  Whenever I was at our apartment, I sat around watching Netflix (in the near future I won't be able to do this anymore), and I researched different purchases for the boat like cooking on a liveaboard and growing food on a boat.  I have become excited about the prospects of living aboard our sailboat but still quite nervous about the actual sailing part; hopefully experience will help me get over that feeling.  But, I digress.  This past week, my coworkers were back in their classrooms preparing for the upcoming school year and meeting their students during Open House.  I have been feeling a little down lately; I wasn't sure it if was due to the fact that Sam will be gone for the next ten consecutive days or if it was because I wasn't going back to school with the rest of my coworkers, people who have become my friends over the past nine years.  As I spend the morning in bed, since it's raining outside, I have an empty feeling in my stomach and I know it's due to the fact that I miss being at school.  These next two or three years will bring me many challenges and enjoyment, but there will be a little whole in my heart that may not be filled with the cruising lifestyle.  Cruising and Teaching can't really be compared because they are so different from each other, but I know that I'll miss planning lessons, teaching students, and catching up with my coworkers and friends.  At the end of this past school year, I wasn't sure when I would be ready to go back to teaching again, I now have a feeling that I'll be eager to get back at it once we've completed our liveaboard dream.  I want to send a shout-out to all my coworkers at MMW and hope you all have a wonderful 2016-2017 school year; please know that I'll think of you often and wish I were there with you.