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Our love of exploring began long before COVID though. We spend many Saturdays in Durango Colorado checking out all of the tourist attractions. One of our favorites is the Honeyville honey plant and gift shop.

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The sunsets where I live in northern New Mexico are incredible and I take photos of them often to save for rainy days.

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Barrett plays Soccer along with many other sports. I cherish these memories from his littlest days as a budding athlete.

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When we cannot make it out of the house we still seek to make memories. Living room camping is another favorite way to spend an evening.

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This cliff I discovered during the pandemic which is only 10 minutes from my house. I love to explore and find places to revel at.

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Ultimately as stated in the opening and closing of my essay, I have learned to live as much as I can each day. There is not a moment or day that goes by that we do not take a minute to find joy. Anything from reading a book, to soaking up the sun can help me feel more connected to myself and to my son.

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As a teacher my finances do not allow us to travel far at this time, but we live in the 4 corners area with so many neat places nearby. Often on weekends you'll find Barrett and I exploring a local town near us. Durango, CO and Silverton, CO are some of our favorites.

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Being a mother is hands down one of the greatest things I have experienced. I always wanted a stable husband and three kids, but those were not the cards I was dealt. Instead, I scored one rockstar little boy who loves to explore and try new things as much as I do. This is my greatest reason for the things I do. Building my career and continuing my education are things I do for me, and for my son to see how to live fully and authentically.

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The moment I became a teacher I felt more alive than I had in any career from my past. I began this career while going through a divorce and it was something that I feel brought me back to myself after so many dark years being stuck in a cycle of Narcissistic abuse. Despite the extreme stress that come from this career, I have also found an incredible sense of purpose in this career.

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This is the last halloween we spent as a family pre-divorce. Even then, it was mostly Barrett and me trying to make the memories.

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For the Moments When Teaching Nearly Kills me

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For the Moments When Teaching Nearly Kills me

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Teacher humor is one of my guilty pleasures. This career while incredibly rewarding is not for the faint of heart, and the silly things from the internet are solid Gold. This is one that I felt on a number of levels after the pandemic and hybrid learning. I feel I am slowly coming out of the COVID fog in education, but even still I chuckle when I read memes like these.

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Physical Activity is something that I cherish due to the high stress that comes with teaching and parenting.

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My first year of teaching I sponsored English Expo. I knew that I had found my Niche within this career.

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During the pandemic we began making efforts to visit all of the local area attractions. This is the Crow Canyon Archeological District.

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Keeping our sense of adventure alive is something that I hold dear. We love water like this creek in Vallecito, Colorado.

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My third year of Teaching I was asked to walk with an Honor Graduate. This is an honor that many teachers wait years to experience. This was also the Spring we returned to the classrooms after COVID and it was much needed joy after the chaos of remote and hybrid teaching.

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The people that I met while teaching have become such an important part of my life. The support and laughs are unmatched. We love to attend our students' activities from time to time and it always helps us reconnect with our "Why."

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Scottsdale, Arizona: Our favorite weekend getaway spot.

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Locally we have amazing attractions near us

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Locally we have amazing attractions near us

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The Durango Narrow Gauge Train Museum is a place that we frequent almost every time we visit the mountains. This is 45 minutes away from our home, and it is everchanging. Sometimes we get lucky enough to catch a train as it is returning from taking riders into the mountains. Getting to walk up to these machines and explore them is so much fun.

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Reading is another activity that I use to decompress and unwind. My son and I have reading time each night before bed to help us unwind and the nights we skip are noticeably more restless.

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The Old Hundred Mine tour in Silverton, Colorado did not disappoint. It was so cool in the shafts.

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Barrett is an Athlete at heart and we stay busy with his activities.

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My favorite hobbies are those that include anything with water. Overall, we love that we both have summers off. This lake is a 5 minute drive from my house so we end up here multiple days of the weeks in the summer months.

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A birthday gift from my parents is my paddle board. A gift to myself is my adventure rig. This is the first car I bought post divorce and it was hard earned and is much loved. The simplest things in this life can be launch pads for so many memories.