Didn't see that one coming

When I decided to change schools last summer, I made my decision based on the city I wanted to live in, not the grade level I wanted to teach. We all make trade-offs, and at the time I needed to list a specific school in a specific city in order to get switched out of my old school. I knew that this job was open, and so took the elementary job in order to be able to move out of the tiny neighborhood of the small town I lived in last year. My thinking was that it was a year, and how bad could it be?

Over the past few months, I've come to a somewhat disturbing conclusion - I've become an elementary school teacher, not just a middle school teacher pretending to be an elementary school teacher. I had students for the first time today (although I've been here for two days, the only kids I see are in the hallways or when they stick their heads in to say hello) and I have FUN. Maybe because I'm able to crank up the dork factor to eleven (and let's be real, I admit my dork factor is pretty high, anyway) and I'll probably be ready to crush them like grapes in a few weeks, but I like playing goofy games, making cheesy bulletin boards, and making the kids who are either low-level or annoying (or both) fall in love with me. I get to laugh a lot more than I did in middle school, and if it sometimes feels like I am teaching via interpretative dance more than language, so be it.

After years of making jokes that I could never be an elementary teacher because I don't own enough seasonal sweatshirts, wooden jewelery, or things that look like apples, I somehow have become one. At least for the time being. Totally didn't expect that one.
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Unrelated, I'm wearing a cashmere sweater my step-mother sent me, and keep petting my own arm. Am even more happy I bought that bag of merino/cashmere blend in Seoul.