Rock on, Anne.

What JZ said, because she, as usual, said exactly what I wanted to say more perfectly than I could have said it. I'm so glad you're so happy, and Ryan continues to be a cutie!

sj beat me to saying exactly this...yay, the house of Tea. But especially, you billy, for believing even when it was hard to do so. You made a choice and the powers that may or may not be lined up behind you. Man. I love stories like yours.

Andi, you are right, my hardest work with this family will be getting the instinctively passive parents to step up for the good of their daughter...but as much for themselves.

This case really challenges and plays into my belief that people are together in this life for some very specific reasons.

Oh libkitty, that sucks. Here's some get-through-the-trial-and-everything-turns-out-better-than-you-ever-imagined~ma

Andi, you are right, my hardest work with this family will be getting the instinctively passive parents to step up for the good of their daughter...but as much for themselves.

It's just... there are a lot of traits that I'm by nature not that I have had to develop for my work, because it all boils down to one thing: what does this person need me to do/say/be to meet their needs at this moment? If I have to be firm or authoritative in a particular situation because that is what the person's developmental needs require, then I will bloody well do that. If the person needs me to answer the 37th time s/he asked that same question today as patiently as I did the first time, when s/he's already asked me the same question 37 times each and every day I have showed up to work with him or her, I will bloody well answer patiently each and every time for 400,953 times. Their needs come first; this isn't to say that I can never pay any attention to my own needs, because if I don't meet my own needs then I lose my ability to meet theirs, my desire to avoid confrontation and let others lead, and my desire to strike out sarcastically when annoyed simply do not actually qualify as needs.

Best of getting through this~ma to libkitty.

Yes, Andi, so true! Behaviors aren't needs. My therapist was very firm with me about learning new behaviors to replace ones I had learned form growing up with alcoholic parents. I fought hard, because I thought those behaviors were who I was. I learned that I could learn to deal with things in a healthier way and still be who I was---only better.

This is a crap day. You know how the statistic is that 50% of all teachers quit teaching in their first 5 years. I can tell you why. You get RIF'd every 2 years, and you start looking for job security.

Seriously, I am wondering if I made the right career change by going into teaching. I am, if I may say so myself, a great teacher. I am good at what I do and every year, I know I get better. But I'm really wondering if I can put up with the politics and the money issues and the severe lack of respect for teachers in the general population.

So, yeah. Got RIF'd today. Again.

Shit, I'm sorry ChiKat.

What's RIF?

Reduction in Force. Education-speak for you-have-no-job-because-we-have-no-money.