You Can't Be Half Pregnant

This week I had an opportunity to chat for a while with my neighbor as she watered the flowers that separate our back yards. Both of us always seem to be on the go, and we don't see each other much, so it's nice to catch up when we do. In our conversation about what it's like to work in a school right now, she used a phrase that I have often used, but never really heard many others say. The phrase goes, "You can't be half pregnant." It's a simple, but a humorous idea. There are just some things in the world, that you are either all-in on or all-out. Just like you can't be half-pregnant, there are no part-time leaders and no half-invested educators. You're either all-in, or you're out. Maybe that's why things seem unusually difficult sometimes, and why those outside of our profession don't always understand. 

So many professions get to clock out and go home and while education always tended to linger into our time away from schools and classrooms, the past year or so has greatly increased that. If you are a teacher right now, you are working 24/7. Even if you aren't planning or grading, your brain is churning. Students and parents likely reach out to you when it is convenient to them, but maybe isn't the best time for you. And no matter what you tell others, you know that a large majority of the time, you respond when called upon. You can't be half-pregnant and right now you can't be half-educator. Sorry, but you're all-in. And just like carrying a child to term, we feel the stress, pain, and uncomfortableness along the way, but I've also never met one mother that will say that it wasn't worth it. Hang in there educators, we know that you're all-in and you're doing a great job.