Today was a good day!!!!

What you will find during this journey is other people traveling along the same route..... Some people will arrive at the destination before you, some will arrive after you, and some will not have the opportunity to arrive. What do I mean???

I have had the opportunity to connect with some amazing people. Some of the people encouraged me before the interview process and kept encouraging me while I waited for a response. I am a true people person and I enjoy interacting with most. It's amazing to connect with people who want the same outcome as you....to experience this opportunity!!! You also find yourself transitioning from needing support and encouragement to being able to encourage and support others who are "in" the process. One of the ways that I find "flow" in my life is by helping other achieve their dreams, wants, wishes, and desires.

Today, I have been able to experience the happiness of others as they received their offer letter. I fully understand their joy, the relief, and the exuberance that comes along with finally being able to read that you have been offered what has been the total consumption of your thoughts....at least it was for me!

Today has also been bitter sweet for me as well, as some of the people that I have rooted for and prayed for learned that they had not been selected. However, there is more than one way to skin a cat, as my grandmother would say. So I encourage those to look into other avenues to realize their dream. There are many different branches on a tree....but they are all connected to the trunk. Everybody's road is not the same even though we are all wanting the same destination. So I am hopeful for them!

All in all...I take the happiness that others experienced today and I look forward to ALL the drinks that have been promised to me!!!

Where would I be without..........................FACEBOOK!

When you have doubts about this experience...Go to Facebook! When you have questions about this experience....Go to Facebook! When you want to know something that you don't know about this experience...Go to Facebook! When you want to connect with others who are in the same boat that you are in......Go to Facebook!

Facebook helped me with the interview. Facebook helped me with the WAITING for the offer letter. Facebook has helped me to meet new people who are just as excited about this experience as I am. Facebook also allows you the wonderful opportunity to help others!

If I can give anyone any advice....it would be....(you guessed it).... GO TO FACEBOOK!!!

YES!!!!!!!......it finally came!!!

CAN YOU SAY RELIEVED! OVER JOYED! HAPPY! AFRAID! ANXIOUS!

All these adjectives describe my state of emotions right now. I got my offer letter today and I am emotionally spent! I have spent the past two weeks balled up in an emotional knot from the birth of my daughter, to the interview, to waiting on the letter, and now to finally have the offer. Oddly enough, I am now rooting for everyone else that wants this same opportunity. This won't be a long post as I am still trying to process everything!!! I'm just so excited....and I just can't hide it!!!!

GOD is SOOOOO AMAZING!

Big Apple at JFK Airport

So I finally made it to NYC. Yes, my flight was delayed three times and my driver almost got into a fight with another driver...I MADE IT! Unfortunately, it was several hours later and it was FREEZING!!! I didn't feel like walking around and sight seeing. All I wanted to do was get to my room and study for this interview!!!! I talked to my girlfriend, Facetimed my little newborn, and then studied! Before I went to bed, I called my girlfriend who prayed or me and us. She has been extremely supportive during this time. I might just have to marry her after all:)

Before I went to bed, I had to make a decision.....WHAT TO WEAR! This had been a topic of discussion before I left home. I really wanted to wear a RED tie with a gray suit, but my girlfriend (Sherrica) thought that it was too much. We settled on a blue suit with an orange tie. Actually, she choose a different orange tie to placate me, but little did she know I would choose to wear the one she selected. I did this because in a partnership, sometimes you just have to trust the other person. So in honor of her and the beautiful gift she had given me last week, I decided to wear the tie that she chose.

I wore the tie on top!

 I woke up at 6:00 a.m. and read over my notes again. I was up, showered, and on the streets of New York by 7:15. God knew that I needed this extra time because I ended up walking the wrong way:) I arrived at the Westin and was greeted by another lady who was interviewing. She and I went up to the "holding area" and talked. She was a really nice lady (Fatima). We were joined by two more ladies and I realized that all of us were interviewing for leadership positions. Later, two men showed up as well. At 8:30 we were greeted and shuffled off to a room where a lady from the HR department walked us through expectations and accommodations. She was really warm and welcoming although the acoustics were horrible. After our 15 minute briefing, the interviews began. OF COURSE, I was one of the last ones!!!! Surprisingly, there were only 7 of us interviewing. The first people came out of the room smiling, no doubt! They assured everyone that we would be ok and to just relax. That in fact, the interview was not as ominous as many of us had expected and prepared for.

At 11:30, I was summoned to my interview room and met by a panel of 2. One was a gentleman from the states and the other was an Emerati woman. THEY WERE SOOOOOOO FRIENDLY! My interview was more like a conversation. We talked about my resume, my accomplishments, and they asked a few scenario questions (email me and I can give you more insight). It was really a great interview and I really enjoyed myself. They were complimentary throughout and I left with a great feeling. Crazy things can always happen, but I felt that the interview went as well as it could go. Now the WAIT begins!!!! I left feeling great. I left thinking about the next steps. I left thinking about all the stuff I would have to sell and all the other stuff I would have to do! I am not a big list person, but I suspect that after I get the official word, LISTS will become something that I routinely do...over and over again!!!! God is amazing in that when we submit to his will, he will give us our hearts desires......

You have to come to NYC and take an $80 car ride back to the airport:)!!!!

and the "WEIGHT" continues

Yes, I know that I used "weight" and not wait! That's because it feels like the "weight" of the world is on me. This opportunity would open the doors for so many things in my life! First, it would allow me the opportunity to provide for my family in such a way that would allow for my fiancé' to focus on being just a mom. This would also allow me to realize my dream in a few years of opening a "Ranch" that would serve students who have been suspended from school. My vision is that instead of running the streets and being rewarded for negative behavior, students would attend the "Turnaround Ranch" and complete school assignments, while also learning character building traits and behavior strategies that they could implement when they returned to school.

 I would ALSO be able to show my kids and family the WORLD! How awesome is that?!!!!

I am so happy when others post their offer letters! I truly am. I have heard that for teaching positions the wait is much shorter than for administrators. I DONT CARE! I JUST WANT TO KNOW! I want to start planning and dreaming without limits, without having to temper my excitement or thoughts because I don't officially know! So I wait.....with the weight of my future hanging in the balance.....

and NOW it BEGINS............

Everyone who has been through this process can attest to this...there are three major waiting periods! The first waiting period is for the email confirming that "you are wanted".

The next waiting period is for your official offer letter.  The final and probably most dreadful one of all is for the "Golden Ticket"!

Unfortunately for me I am in the first stage:( In addition to waiting on "THE" email, I also find myself waiting for the clock to get to 4 p.m. so that I can go home and spend time with my new little one! I guess no matter which way I turn I am in a proverbial state of WAITING!!! To be continued......

Who remembers that OJ commercial of him running through the airport?.....

Well that was me!! I woke up around 6 and watched some tv and then played with my new daughter. For some reason I was in a real relaxed state thinking that I have plenty of time to get to the airport.... I got up around 8 and showered and finished packing. I left the house around 9 and noticed that my girlfriend's car had a low front tire (Murphy's Law was beginning). I stopped to get put air in the tire and made my way to the "Park n Fly" lot. It took the van SOOOO long to get to me and then load everyone else....as we were leaving I remembered "$@!#, I left my phone in the car (Murphy's Law continuing). I made the guy go back because if you are like me, I have no numbers committed to memory. We arrived at the airport and I breezed through security. It was not about 10:10 and my flight departed are 10:40, which meant I had to be loaded on the plane by 10:25. I looked at my ticket and went straight to gate C8....but there was a problem....1) there was no C8 and even if it was, I was in the wrong terminal...(Southwest...I'm flying US Airways...Murphy's Law was now in full force!!) This is when my OJ nightmare/reenactment began. I began to run back down the terminal..I hoped on the train just as the doors were closing. I swear my foot just made it!!! I hopped of the train and ran down the terminal and made it with 2 minutes to spare. Mind you, I was no sweating as if I had just completed one of Shaun T's workouts!!!! As I sat down, I noticed I had a message from "the women" in my life....

This made my dry mouth, sweaty forehead, and wet shirt all better:) Yes, I made it! Only to sit on the tarmac for another 30 minutes:) LOL...

We finally land in Charlotte and I find out that my flight has been delayed (AGAIN) until 3! On a side note I had the best tater tots that I had ever had in my life at the airport.

Anyway....today is just affirmation that this is a process that I have no control over and one which will require patience. I also have to remember that I am doing all of this to provide a better future for my entire family!!! I am still sitting in the airport and I would not be surprised if my flight is delayed yet again. If so, that's all right....just more time for me to practice patience and "Letting Go"!

p.s. The tater tots were SOOOOOOOOO good!!

One Day Away From the Big Day

So it's Sunday and tomorrow I travel to New York for my ADEC interview on Tuesday. I will let you in on a secret....I REALLY WANT THIS! I have spent the last week reading every blog I could find, studying every Facebook post from the Footprints and ADEC Hopefuls page...some I have re-read.....and re-read. I have printed out a list of questions that I think they will ask and my responses and I will spend the next two days studying these notes. This is my normal procedure for my past interviews and they have gone relatively well......if I may say so myself. I think it's always good to have a game plan and even if the exact questions aren't asked, you can always find a way to weave your responses in.

For the time being, I am just typing my blog without publishing anything yet, until I know more. And then....I will have to decide when to tell my staff and submit my letter of resignation. I want to wait until May if possible. We have a lot of things that we need to get done at my school and I think there is a natural tendency for people to relax when they know that the "emperor has NO MORE clothes":)

Interesting....

I am not even sure how I ended up looking into the possibility of working in Abu Dhabi. I had a friend that is currently teaching over there, but I am not sure how the idea became a part of my spirit. I have a great job as a principal and "we" (students, staff, and community) have been able to turn the school around in just a year. I am closer to my family both in proximity and in connectedness than I have ever been in years.....So why Abu Dhabi? The question is simple....I LOVE LIFE! I think that there are many people who wake up everyday without an appreciation or even an understanding that you only get 1 life. The thought of being able to work with other educators who have made a commitment to something greater than themselves, disrupt their life, move half way across the world, and do all of this with many unknowns is exciting! I'm not much of a writer, but I figure this will be an outlet as I have heard the waiting can be painful. My goal also is to answer all of the questions for others, that I wondered about through myself. I am not sure how long this blog will last, because to date, I have not formally been offered yet. It may be over before it even begins:) LOL

I'll begin with my story..In October I decided to come home one Friday night and complete my application. Like most, I received an email within a week asking me to schedule an interview via Skype. I thought to myself, WOW! That was quick!! Originally, I had applied for a Cluster Manager position. The interview went well and I was notified that I would move to the next round, but that ADEC would be dictating the time lines which were not known by my recruiter, which was Teach Away at the time. I received an email a few weeks later stating that they had not heard anything about the positions so they were assuming that they had all been filled.

In November I received an email that I almost skipped right over asking me if I was still interested in a Principal/Vice Principal position. I replied YES!!!!!! I had a phone interview and was told again that I would advance to the next round.....but again timelines where unknown...SIGH..HERE WE GO AGAIN:) All I was told was that the next round would be after the new year (2015). So I went on with my life:) I have learned to be patient and not worry about the things that I cannot control.....I give those things to GOD. However, I think that this process will test both my patience and faith:)

In January I received an email asking me to choose preliminary interview dates and locations. This was difficult because I wanted to begin the process as soon as possible....so I could learn my fate, as soon as possible:) However, my girlfriend and I were expecting our little "Madisyn" during the same time period. What the hell, I choose the first location, which was New York and it was the same date as our due date:) For some reason, I just knew everything would work out. The wait was intense though....I checked everyday for an official interview invite. Again, I decided to just let it go and give it to God.

On February 2nd, Madisyn arrived at 6:41 weighing 6.2 pounds. My girlfriend had gone into labor at about 1:00 a.m. that morning. By the time we were assigned our room and got settled, it was about 10:00 p.m. I know I have no right to complain, but I was exhausted. I passed out on the make shift couch/bed and was awoken by one of the many nurse visits. It was around 3:00 a.m. I looked down at my phone and noticed that I had an email from my recruiter. IT WAS THE OFFICIAL NEW YORK INVITE!

Here is the ironic part of all of this. I interviewed for my first principalship "days" after my son was born. I literally still had on the arm band from the hospital. I took this a good sign!! When my girlfriend awoke, I told her the news and she was extremely supportive, although you can understand that her joy was a bit muted due to her exhaustion and new focus:)

When we arrived home, I made the flight and hotel arrangements. I re-read the invitation email again and noticed that it was going to be a Skype interview. While I am exited, I would prefer an in person interview. AND, because I was notified within a week of the  interview, the plane tickets were expensive....all this money for a Skype interview. Oh well, its a blessing to be chosen to be interviewed and even more of a blessing that God has provided the means for me to be able to purchase the ticket and hotel.

So needless to say, when i haven't been sleeping, I have been scouring the blogs and joined every Facebook page I could to connect with others to get some insight. Hopefully, the interview will be blessed and I will know rather quickly if I am selected so I can move to the next steps literally, mentally, and physically.

I titled my blog "Incognito for now" because there are only a select few that know about any of this. I already know that there are some people in my life that are happy with me living my life "inside the box" that they are comfortable with. I don't want the negative energy or the million questions about why. I want to be in a great space and my girlfriend and my mom are both excited about the process and potential, so those are the ones that I will take with me into the interview. Others will eventually find out if I am successful, but by then it will be too late:)