Today’s prompt is the road not taken.

The Road Taken

what happens if the career you prepared yourself for
doesn’t fit you
teaching was not the rewarding experience I expected
a fortune spent on tuition
wasted

after four years I took maternity leave
which grew into resignation
as babies kept coming 
and I became a professional mother
so much more satisfying than
caring for other people’s kids

but moms can’t stay home forever
in the American economy
so I worked a variety of part-time and full-time gigs
until I thought, man, if I have to work at a high-stress job
I may as well use my degrees
and I backtracked into the classroom for a second go-round
after 27 years away

having accompanied my children
through their childhoods
I had a new context for teaching
a new understanding of students
and teaching was fun
until it wasn’t
my second teaching career lasted eight years

44% of new teachers in the US
quit within the first five years
maybe tuition for education degrees
should be refundable

©ARHuelsenbeck