Free from the day to day grind…
This is what freedom looks like! The realisation that the routine of eat, sleep, work, repeat is no more…..
In my case (Pete), I had left school on a Friday and started work on the following Monday, a young and eager 17 year old and have pretty much worked fulltime ever since. I was fortunate to have a long term career in policing, which led me into aviation and the last ten years has been in that space.
However, the realisation of another ten years of driving the highway to Perth Airport through ever increased traffic, coupled with the daily stress that commercial aviation brings had me contemplating what the future should be. I have been around long enough to know that whilst you can pour your heart and soul and many, many hours into your work, as soon as you are gone someone else steps in and you become just a memory - quickly forgotten and less relevant as the weeks and months roll on.
For me (Nicky), the decision to step away from teaching wasn’t taken lightly. I was ready, but an incredible amount of hard work had gone into gaining my teaching degree as a mature age student, whilst juggling with the responsibility of raising Jemma and Kalani; two very active and sporty girls.
Only those in the teaching profession truly understand the time, commitment and passion required to be a primary school teacher. It literally is all-consuming for the ten weeks of each term (just ask the family members of any of your teacher friends). I could go on to talk about the many facets of the profession that make it so demanding, yet at the same time so rewarding, but I won’t bore you with all that :)
The thing I miss most is my students; getting to know their individual personalities and idiosyncrasies, and playing a big part in helping them to develop into happy and successful little humans. I also miss my teaching family ((heck, we spent a hell of a lot of time together!). The comradery shared by everyone working at Marmion was second to none and not seeing them every day has taken some adjustment. Fact: I even had FOMO when everyone went back to school at the start of the year. Yes, sad, but very true. You guys ROCK!
So, was I really prepared to take the final step and move on? Absolutely!
I left feeling loved and appreciated by my peers and the school community, but the sailing seed had been planted and it was time to step out of my comfort zone once again. No regrets!
So how does it feel to be free of those stresses and the daily commute?
The opportunity to set your own timeline, routines and not be bound to a greater entity is pretty bloody amazing - as all of those retirees out there will know!
What we have both learnt is that when you step away you are quickly replaced and the world goes on. So this has solidified our decision to do something for ourselves whilst we are both fit and healthy.
Working two days a week over summer to keep the dream alive. Tough gig, but someone has to do it..
