Hi, if you don’t know me very well yet, I am Carrie. I am a Spanish teacher about to start my 33rd year in the classroom, an author of readers for learners, a learner of French, German, Greek, and Portuguese, and a curriculum creator. Since 2012, I have created resources for Spanish classroom students in my own classroom and in 2016, I began sharing those resources with teachers.

Last year, I lost a job that I had loved for many years and it hurt! You put your heart into things and it’s sad to see them come to an end, but I filled my time working hard at another contracting job that I loved. This spring that job also came to an end. It has been a period of some serious reflection and soul searching in my life! Where do I want to go from here?

This summer I wrote a blog post about my first experiences doing yoga. You know, I’ve NEVER stuck with a sport or exercise before. I honestly feel like it’s a dumb thing to crow about, but I stuck with an exercise program 3 days a week for the whole 12 weeks of summer. And I was SAD to see it end today!

This is something I NEVER would have done if the contracting doors hadn’t closed. I would’ve been in my living room on the computer all summer. In class, I went from barely being able to do a “high knee” (lifting one knee up to stand on one foot) to being able to do a half moon pose!

Without my contract work, I had time to write for Somewhere to Share. It felt great to use the first fruits of my creativity to create new resources! Usually Somewhere to Share gets what energy I have left after all the other jobs and I don’t get to put out as many new products as I’d like! This summer we are at 50 new resources and counting!!

My life is going to look a lot different going back to school this fall with no hourly contracting work, but my yoga zen has helped me see that when doors close, others open. I believe that God has walked through all kinds of ups and downs with me and that he’s here to walk through this too!

If I can go from thinking Downward Dog and Chataranga push ups are the worst part of yoga to being able to hold the poses several times in a row in a one hour class, I can do anything. Well, almost anything. I’m going to keep trying, though!

If this season of your life includes upheaval, know you’re not alone. I’m going back to school a little freer but also nervous about the future. I know the balance will eventually skew toward the freedom and joy, so I’m just going to wait for the next door to open in my path!

Thank you SO much for 10 years of supporting Somewhere to Share. Can’t wait to introduce new products in this new era of my life!