More than a quarter of a century ago, literally in a previous millenium, I interviewed for a job at a school I’d grown up hating. Having lived in south Parkersburg all my life and being an alumnus of Parkersburg South High School, the idea of working at Parkersburg High School was completely unthinkable. But I desperately needed a job and this was the perfect position–all seniors in my English classes, plus I had the chance to be the speech and debate team coach, something I was truly excited about. My plan was to work at PHS until my old coach and mentor Tom Isenhart retired from South.

Sadly, my old coach didn’t retire. Having lost his wife a year earlier, he took his own life. For lots of complicated emotional reasons, I just couldn’t bring myself to apply for the job. I told myself I’d replace the next person. Well, that didn’t happen either. In fact, I had grown to love my job and my friends and my students so much, I couldn’t imagine working anywhere else.

And, so, I haven’t. Today is the end of my 26th–and final–year as a teacher at Parkersburg High School. And that’s quite shocking, to be honest. It seems like just a couple years ago that I did the math and figured out I still had more years to teach than I’d already taught before I could retire. Then one day, I added up my years (I almost had to take my shoes off) and realized that, with help from some sick days, I could retire at the end of this year. But did I want to? I thought and prayed about it for a bit and realized, to my mild surprise, I did. It felt like a lot of things were coming together to make it a smart choice anyway. My daughter just graduated last week, and the thought of us graduating together, so to speak, just felt right. Also, I had to decide whether I was going to renew my National Board certification, something that cost several hundred dollars and would mean a lot of extra hours of research, planning, and writing, all during the year Sarah and I were trying to prepare to send our baby off into the world of higher education.

Between all that and the deep desire to dedicate more time and energy to writing, the decision was relatively easy. I’m still young and the money won’t be great, meaning I’ll need to sub to make up the difference, but I am okay with that. It allows me to stay connected with the school and the kids I love. And, I’ve been told by recent retirees, it’s really easy money compared to all the headaches and heartaches attached to full-time teaching.

Will I miss this place? Frankly, I probably won’t have time to miss it, as I’ll be here every week anyway. And, while I truly love my teacher friends, the people I had the deepest connections with have all long since retired, so I find myself eating alone in my room or, when time allows, going out to lunch by myself. It’s not that I’m disliked, I hope. I just feel like the staff now is a completely new generation, with their own friend groups. I’m not trying to make anyone feel guilty or sorry for me. I’m not sad about it. It’s just a reality of life and work. The time has come to move on.

There are tons of people for whom I’m grateful. I won’t start listing them for fear of missing someone important, but if you and I have worked together here at The School of Champions, just know I’m grateful for your love and support and energy. I’ve cherished being here and I like to think I made the school a better place by being here. If I’ve ever brightened your day, I’m glad. If I’ve ever made your life harder, I sincerely apologize and hope you know it wasn’t intentional. God bless you all, and remember…

ONCE A BIG RED, ALWAYS A BIG RED!