Force of nature

My mother is a force of nature. She is a whirl wind for organizing, managing, and telling people what to do in an kind and considerate way. She can organize potlucks with a single bound, rule the USD 373 School board with a fist full of compassion and righteous knowledge. Organize bike rides with hundreds of people in a single afternoon. She get things done and she does them well, and everyone is happy to follow her wake.

Growing up with this, I had certain expectations about myself and my carrier. I would be a natural teacher, with Freedom Writers, Dangerous minds and That one math teacher in Texas, rolled up in to one wonderful boisterous Bill-Nye-the-Science-Guy ball.

This is not the case. One professional development guru said that there are four stages in a teacher's career:
1. Fantasy-the wide-eye college student ready to reform NCLB single handedly
2. Survival- the harried 23 year old sprouting gray hairs by the minute
3. Mastery- the teacher you learned from and enjoyed
4. Impact- the teacher who opened your eyes.

It's safe to say that the fantasy is over, and I'm on to the survival stage.
I pray in an honest and sincere way that I will be able to make a difference.
But for now, I just wanna pay my bills and force F=ma down a few kids throats.