1994-1995 THE ONE WHERE I WAS PREGNANT WITH MY SECOND CHILD: Wichita Public Schools: Peterson K-5 Library
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| 1994-1995 School year photo where I was VERY pregnant |
The 1994-1995 School Year started out with the entire district attending a presentation by Dr. Jesse Jackson. He was a good speaker but his presentation was a little too political for my liking. I realized that as a Conservative/Republican/Educator my “beliefs” were not the norm for my profession. Most of my best friends are Liberal/Democrat/Educators. I am respectful of their beliefs and they are respectful of mine. I also knew that it was important for me to be a member of our Teachers Union called United Teachers of Wichita.
In the fall of 1994 Library Media Services asked Linda Paul and Meg Schimmels and myself to be a part of a live TV show produced by USD 259. We discussed the benefits of Flexible Library Scheduling and then took calls from our viewers. I was honored that Mary Schumacher, Director of Library Media Services asked me to be a part of this TV show.
My in-laws had been providing daycare for our oldest son at no cost. I wanted our son to have some time around other children so we made the decision to pay for part time daycare. Sadly that ended up being a good decision for us as my Mother in-law discovered that she had a brain aneurysm and that she and my Father in-law would no longer be able to care for our son ½ of the week. During the time of my Mother In-laws diagnosis no one in the Wichita area could do the medical procedure that she needed. Brad spent many weekends in Omaha Nebraska with his family. Sadly my Mother in-law had a stroke after her aneurysm surgery. She was never the same.
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| Penney and I at a NU game in the fall of 1994 |
Brad needed to be with his family but it was not easy for me being pregnant and alone with a toddler. I was exhausted and felt like it did affect my Teaching, and it WAS noticed by my Assistant Principal. She was very hard on me and suddenly critical of the decor in my Library and the clothing I wore to school. She called me into her office when I was 8 months pregnant to tell me that my maternity clothes were too tight. She suggested that I buy new clothing. I remember dropping by K-Mart on my way home to see if I could find anything loose and school appropriate as my AP suggested. Money was tight. I started crying because I did not know what to do. My Mom just so happened to be in that K-Mart at the same time. She gave me $100 for new clothes. My AP was impressed but told me that it is NEVER appropriate to show your growing womb! WTF? My goodness how times have changed and most women glorify and flaunt their baby bumps. My Doctor had told me to take it easy and not work past contract hours. When I told my AP about this she informed me that under no circumstances would I be excused from the upcoming two 12 hour conference days. I did as she said and spent two evenings sitting as almost no one comes in to see the Librarian during conferences. She should have allowed me to use a sick day instead. She just did not like me.
I gave birth to our second son on 1/15/95. Two days later I got very sick with a high fever that landed me back in the hospital for a week. Brad was on his own with a two year old and an infant. He did an incredible job with our boys.
My AP’s dislike of me continued after the birth of our second son. I believe it had to do with the fact that I was one of the first employees in USD 259 to take advantage of the newly passed Federal Law entitled FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE. This allowed me to take 12 weeks off instead of 6. It actually turned out to be 13 weeks when spring break was added in. I am glad I did so.
I was asked by Library Media Services if I could attend a Breakfast ceremony a few days before my maternity leave was up. I did so because I had nominated my Principal for the prestigious AdMEDIAstrator award and he was going to be named the winner. He had always been so supportive of the Library program at Peterson. When I returned to work the next week the AP told me that the staff liked my substitute much better than they liked me, and that they would prefer her to stay on over me. It was that comment that helped me make the decision to look for a part time Library position at another school for the upcoming school year. My long term substitute was not a certified Librarian so she did not get my job.I applied for the 3 day position at Earhart Environmental Magnet and was immediately hired. I was going to really miss my friends Shelly and Penny at Peterson but my decision to work part time with young children was one of the best things I ever did.
Stay tuned for my next entry on 8/28/21 titled
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