New Beginnings
by
Mary Manners
"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven..."
~ Ecclesiastes 3:1 ~
This month marks a huge milestone in my life -- retirement from a three-decade career of teaching and school administration. I have stepped into a school building for 6,196 mornings, and have only four days to go. It's barely believable that the end is so close. My feelings are mixed...excitement and sadness, fear and exhilaration. I will miss the children, but not the political red tape.
I began my teaching journey at the tender age of twenty-one, and spent the first several years working with special needs children. From there I moved to a decade of fourth grade and Junior Primary, and then traversed to middle school where I taught sixth, seventh, and eight grades. Three years ago I stepped into administration at an intermediate school. My career has spanned nine grades and four schools. Now, thirty-one years later, I will finish a journey that I have considered a blessing, and begin another that I have always dreamed of--full-time writing.
Yes, from my earliest memory as a child I have longed to write. I shared stories before I even knew how to put them to paper. Through my journey, I promised myself that as soon as was contracted to be published that I would quit my teaching job. Well, I received 'the call' six years ago this month, and it has taken me this long to say my goodbyes to the school children I've grown to love. But I'm doing it...finally.
So, in just a few weeks I will begin this new season, and oh...it's going to be a joy! Stay tuned...I'll keep you posted on this much-anticipated adventure.
~~~~~
Cooper Jackson...no, it can’t be. Wake up, wake up! The room began to whirl and harsh lights danced before Lexi’s eyes. She blinked hard once, twice, and heard a flurry of movement to her left. Then he strode out. He had to duck to clear a microphone suspended from the ceiling, and his height shaded the lights, easing the glare that burned her eyes. His dark hair was a bit shorter than she remembered, but it still fell in tousled waves across intense, smoky‐gray eyes.
The years had added muscle—lots of it. And he flashed the same ‘I can get out of anything’ grin that had melted her the first time they’d met, back in the school lunchroom in sixth grade, when he’d tried to swap his warm, stinky tuna fish on squashed white bread for the turkey and cheddar on wholegrain her mom had packed along with juicy red seedless grapes and a homemade frosted fudge brownie. That grin wouldn’t work its magic on her anymore. No way in...
“Hello, Lexi.”
Her insides turned to ice. His voice was deep, coaxing, just as she remembered. She sat paralyzed, speechless. Every thought flew from her mind. She gripped the armrests of the chair like life preservers on a sinking Titanic.
~~~~~
Mary Manners is an award-winning romance writer who lives in the beautiful foothills of East Tennessee with her husband Tim and the cherished cats they've rescued from local animal shelters...Neyland and Gus. She loves swimming, running, flavored coffee and Smoky Mountain sunsets.
Mary believes everyone has a story to tell, and she loves to share hers. She writes inspirational romances of all lengths, from short stories to novels—something for everyone.
Learn more about Mary Manners at her website: www.MaryMannersRomance.com.
