{ I Am Back}

Hey guys,

TEACHING IS HARD. AND DOING OTHER THINGS WHILE YOU ARE TEACHING TURNS LIFE INTO PURE CHAOS.

There. I said it. I feel a lot better now.

I honestly feel like that stopping right here would make one heck of a blog post, but I decided a few weeks ago that I really needed to write this post not only to share my thoughts with you all (former followers of Polka Dots and Pals), but also for me to feel better about not making any more of those silly pals (I promise I will explain all of this...please stick with me).

Two years ago (I believe right around this time), I started making little stick people that I so lovingly called "pals." I am not a fantastic artist, but I thought my little "pals" were fairly cute (see exhibit A below). I started making some for my kindergarten teammates and a few other people at my school.

Exhibit A

They were fun to make, and I was wanting to work on making clip art for others, so I put a form on Teachers Pay Teachers. I was excited to share my little pals, and I couldn't wait to get my flood of orders! It would happen at any time!

IT DIDN'T.

So, I decided to start a facebook group, and I started by adding people from my school, and slowly but surely, more people starting liking my page. Before I knew it I had 20 likes!

Success did not happen quickly for me. When I finally hit 100 likes (like 4 months later). I decided to have a day of giveaways of my own products. I was giving away personalized pals as well. Suddenly, the orders started pouring in. Before the end of that day, I had 25 orders. I was so thrilled that I was getting noticed.

Well, by the end of that summer, I filled 150 orders (that was in a 3 month time span). It took me nearly two hours to make each pal, so I was working 12 hours a day. I worked 5 hours a day while I was on vacation in Charleston. I couldn't keep up with the sheer volume of orders.

 

I couldn't complain. How could I? Not everyone gets the opportunity I got to make cute things and then get paid to do it! What was wrong with me?

As I was beginning my second year of teaching, there were a lot of things I knew I needed to change from my first year. I had a lot on my plate (we also had new administration), and I just didn't have the time to work on pals. Trying to juggle making pals while teaching the bright young minds of tomorrow was literally exhausting.

I tried to love it...I really did.

So here is my confession.

I hate those pals.

WHAT?! How could I even say that?! How dare I say such hateful things!

I got so burned out over the course of one summer (I know...it didn't take long...and that embarrasses me deeply) that I just couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't even LOOK at a pal without wanting to hug my knees in the fetal position.  The juggling act between teaching and spending an additional 4-5 hours working on pals after school led to my demise. And how did I cope with it?

I fell off the face of the blogosphere.

This is me falling off of the face of the blogosphere.

I stopped making pals, and for the first time in a while, I felt free to focus on my teaching. I had time to be a better teacher, and I had time to research new, cool ways to improve my craft (mostly by reading blogs by most of you wonderful bloggers...you all have it together).

A few weeks ago, I started working on a kindergarten math intervention packet (that is officially done...it is in the editing phase...shout out to those who correct my grammar...woot woot), and the itch to blog and create came back. However, it felt different. I have more experience, and I finally felt like I kind of knew what I was doing (do we EVER feel like we know completely know what we are doing...teachers, can I get an amen?), and I wanted to share that. So, I decided to revamp my blog and my store.

I am going to confess that I am stepping away from making clip art. That journey was great while it lasted, but I want to create things that help my craft (and possibly help others perfect their craft). I am a thinker, so quickly shooting out products was really hard for me. I want my products to be helpful and meaningful to you and your students. You deserve that, teacher! And I deserve to show you my best!

I am so sorry for the 3 page cathartic word vomit. You made it through.

I hope you found this post insightful and humorous. I have learned it is okay to fail, as long as you try again. I am ready to get back on the horse and try again.