"Reject"

            REJECT. REJECT. REJECT. REJECT.

            What a powerful word in my world as a substitute teacher. Every day, hundreds of job openings appear at the website used by many school districts. The district I work with the most has a few high schools, a handful of middle schools, and double digit elementary schools. Many of the elementary schools tuck themselves into neighborhoods too far away from my personal guideline—no schools more than ten minutes from my home. This door-to-door time frame puts a restriction on my Type A personality. Otherwise, I’d scurry from one side of our district to another on a daily basis.

            I could go into the parameters on the substitute website and block the campuses with a longer drive, but I don’t. It empowers me to REJECT the job notices from those more distant schools. Like most people, many things in our lives slip out of our control. I must work. However, I finally get to pick when, where, and how often I work. Hitting REJECT reaffirms my ability to determine the course of my days. During my last year or two of substitute work, I decided to shift mainly to elementary schools. That change translates into more REJECT presses. More power to me.

Every day I weigh my options and then have an additional strength—ACCEPT!

COPYRIGHT 2019 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman