It’s Been a Journey! Life Update

The last couple of years have been a journey, from leaping from the elementary school principal’s office to diving into the world of instructional design to where I am today. While I did not know what was in store, I’m glad I had the opportunities I experienced in the last two years.

In January 2022, the idea of leaving the principal’s office started to form. I believe providence placed me in charge of the school community during the pandemic, and I was the person the community needed to keep everyone safe and learning. As we neared the end of the pandemic, I knew I needed a break after working continuously from August 2019 through June 2022. I could also tell that times were different, and it was an opportunity for the community to rebuild new traditions after the pandemic. Despite these feelings, I was prepared to start the 2022-2023 school year. An incident in March made me think hard about continuing as principal, and I decided to leave my position.

During this time of discernment, two songs were on repeat in my head. Cody Johnson’s “‘Til You Can’t” was one of those songs. The lines, “If you got a chance, take it, take it while you got a chance. If you got a dream, chase it, ‘cause a dream won’t chase you back,” spoke to me as this was a chance to try something new. The other song was Jordan Davis’ “Buy Dirt”. The line that resonated with me was, “Do what you love but call it work.” Unfortunately, the incident in March made me no longer do what I love and call it work.

The plan was to have six months off and start chasing new dreams. For a hobby, I thought I would be woodworking, but little did I know I would become an auto mechanic. My valve covers were leaking, and the wait for the shop to fix them was too long. I learned how to replace them myself, only to realize that the lower intake manifold was also leaking. Eventually, the head gasket blew, and I found myself wrenching deep in a major car repair. Also, during this time, I wanted to build on my running experiences, which I restarted in the fall of 2019. In September, I ran my first race, the Cascade Express Marathon. Since then, I have run four half marathons and three full marathons.

In January 2023, I pursued instructional design, learning as much as possible from online resources and connecting with instructional designers. At the time, a personal blog seemed an excellent way to show off my skills, so I started LearnMakeFixRun. I learned I needed a professional portfolio in June and began generating ideas. When school started for my girls in the fall, I worked on my portfolio projects and launched them in October on MikeLXD.com. I had a few interviews for instructional design positions and got to the second round a few times, but I still needed to receive an offer. All along, the freedom to make my schedule allowed me to continue to run on my schedule and chronicle my running journey on my blog. As I learned new things about home repair, car repair, cooking, and instructional design, I could share what I have learned while making, fixing, or running. It also gave me time to be present for my girls as they participated in after-school sports.

In February 2024, I realized I did my best to chase a dream. I was chasing something I loved, but maybe it was time to return to something else I loved – teaching. I started looking into teaching jobs in March. At the same time, I received my scam job offer. I was also considering freelance work, and the fake job offer discouraged me from pursuing client work. A position at a high school aligned with my educator experience was posted. They were looking for an AP Statistics and Algebra I teacher. I taught graduate- and undergraduate-level statistics classes at Bethany University and William Jessup University for ten years. My other experience teaching at the high school level involved teaching Algebra 1B, a full-year course that studied the second half of a traditional Algebra I class. This felt like a good fit, and I accepted the position in May.

It was recommended that I take an Advanced Placement Summer Institute class over the summer. During the four-day (7.5-hour per day) class, I felt that sense of providence again, that I was in the right place. I started in August, and it’s been a great transition. The students have been great, and I have been able to collaborate with my colleagues. Unlike my experience at a single-grade elementary school where I was the junior high math department, I am one of eight teachers in the math department. I share an office with two other math teachers who I can bounce questions off of. My biggest concern was the reverse commute, which hasn’t been a concern. It has allowed me to start listening to audiobooks and podcasts.

As I went into the Christmas break, I finished my first semester. I’m surprised that time has flown by so quickly. Thinking back over the previous two years, I didn’t know exactly where I would end up, but I feel I am where I need to be. There was a lot of instructional planning work for my classes when I started, but the workload has leveled off. The planning work affected my running schedule, but now I am back on track. There should be regular updates in the future, but not at the same cadence as when I started the blog.

I had a chance, took it, took it while I had a chance. I had a dream, chased it, ‘cause my dream wasn’t chasing me back. And now, I do what I love, but call it work.