Happy Friday!

I love Friday. I get to sit at home in my chair and not do anything. Grandma takes Patrick to school, he gets a ride to work, and I don't have to leave my house until it's time to pick him up. That's practically a vacation. LOL.

I was going to take the C-BASE today but due to money probs and no babysitter I am putting it off yet again until June. It's all right though. This give me a chance to buy a cbase book to study up on it and take it when I don't have the pressure of other classes to study for.

Some interesting things have been going on around here. Patrick and I have been discussing what we are going to do when I graduate from school. We've been considering moving for a few years (2-4). There are so many incentive programs for teachers all over the country (even the world) that we have been thinking about moving and teaching else where while we still can. I am sort of tied here because of my grandma, but she's still in relatively good health and if I'm going to go somewhere I need to do it ASAP.

I talked to grandma about this and she's encouraging. She thinks we ought to do it. The experience would be good for us and our kids. I'm worried though. If something happens to her I need to come back. I talked to my mom about it and she says if worse came to worse she'd move grandma in with her. OH MY GOD! That would be the worst thing that could happen. They do not get along. Grandma isn't exactly honest with mom about her health, anyway. Grandma has been known to fib and out and out lie about her health. To compound the problem, my mom is one of those people who doesn't believe people are sick. She thinks it's all in a person's head. I'm afraid that if I left grandma wouldn't tell anyone if something is wrong and no one would tell me if something happened.

I really want to go though. I want to do something different for a while. I want to get out and experience the world. I grew up a military brat and until I was 10 we lived over seas. It was an excellent experience for me. I want to offer that experience to my kids.

Patrick and I talked about the Peace Corps, but they don't accept couples with dependant children anymore. So we've been looking into programs for teacher shortage areas in the US. You can go just about anywhere in the US as a teacher and get a good paying job. Some people are offering sign on bonuses, relocation reimbursement, loan forgiveness, all kinds of stuff. The place we've been talking about is Hawaii. LOL.

Hawaii is desperate for teachers. Not on the big island, but on the smaller islands in the small communities. The starting pay is between 30-39 thousand a year. Hawaii's education system has alot of problems, but so does everyone. I've been reading blogs, and chat boards from Hawaii teachers to see what they are complaining about. Mostly it's the cost of living. It's really high there. A two income family gets by ok, though. In our case, since we both can work, we'd do ok. We'd still have alot more money than we are used to having. Guess it helps that we are used to being poor. LOL. The plus side is that I wouldn't hate it. Living on a smaller island where there isn't tons of people would be a plus for me, not a minus. Not to mention that no matter where you are, you aren't very far from the beach. LOL.

We are really considering this idea. For one thing, Patrick is interested in getting into marine biology. There are lots of opportunites for him there that he can't get other places. Hell we could move when I graduate and he can work the same job he has now making 3 times as much. Our salaries combined would be enough to live pretty comfortably on a smaller island. I checked into housing costs and it's doable. We'd be paying somewhere between 1,000-2,000 a month in rent. With utilities etc. that eats up one paycheck. There's also several excellent colleges there that Patrick could finish up his education at. He'd have a much wider opportunity in the field of biology plus he can finish teaching cert. there.

It's scary, the idea of moving. I'm very comfortable here in my run down house. LOL. Too comfortable. The prospects of getting a teaching job locally are pretty dim though. There are too many teachers here. We don't qualify as a teacher shortage area. Some schools qualify as low income schools like laquey middle and high, plato, places like that. The plum district is of course Waynesville, but the competition for jobs is high and getting higher every year. About 80% of Drury's students are there for teaching. They are there for elementary ed, and now secondary education is on the rise. Moving and getting some experience under our belts could really help us to settle down here a few years down the road. Not to mention that Patrick is more likely to get hired elsewhere with that DUI conviction if they are a shortage area. And a good reference will help him later here.

I'm excited by the prospect of going somewhere else. I'm scared too, though. I have so many deep ties and roots here. My family is here, my grandma, WOM, my friends, and I'm tied to my land too. When I lived on post for a year I really was homesick. Silly I know when I only lived 15 mins away. But I really was homesick.

I want to offer my kids some experience of the world. I don't want them to be some of those kids that do not have any experience outside their little world in here. Living in a place like Hawaii would be like living in another world. It's definitely worth thinking about.

We are really considering it. I just don't know though. sigh.

Natalie