Tomorrow will be 1,051,200 minutes since I was hired in my current positon as Director of Behavioral Health Services at Round Rock ISD. The day my hire was official I posted a blog about the journey to get to this point in my life… little did I know what was awaiting my journey.
Two months into me being hired, COVID would hit our nation, our world. What was known, the certainty, would be thrown out the window, and in turn the role of behavioral health would take a front seat for not only for schools but our society as a whole. As I was just starting to establish a new position, and new department, our world would change in unexplainable ways.
The song “The River” by Garth Brooks has played an important part in my journey. I feel like my life until the point of getting this job was the first verse of the song:
You know a dream is like a river
Ever changin’ as it flows
And a dreamer’s just a vessel
That must follow where it goes
Trying to learn from what’s behind you
And never knowing what’s in store
Makes each day a constant battle
Just to stay between the shores
But I don’t know if I was mentally, emotionally ready for the next part of the journey. The line from the song “And there’s bound to be rough waters” is an understatement for anyone working in education the last two years…. yet as rough as the waters have been, as much as I have felt lost at times, I sit tonight and amazed at where this journey has taken me.
When I was hired our department, Safety and Security, was exactly three of us! I now am surrounded by about 49 individuals in our department with 14 being individuals I have the honor of supporting each day. In two years, we have grown in numerous directions and I can be thankful that students, staff, and families are cared for in ways unimaginable during the worst of times.
Not only would we confront COVID, but there has also been the Texas snowapocalypse, and the tensions that come with working in a police department.. that is right, I now am part of a police department where we are working to redefine school policing by partnering officers and social workers so we can ensure all students get the care they need.
My family has been through unexplainable grief, and unexplainable joy….Through it all, I have never doubted I am where I am to be at this point in my life… and I wouldn’t have made it without Matthew.
Has it been hard? In ways only those closest to me can understand.
Has it been worth it? I wouldn’t be anywhere else.
Do I question my ability to lead a team at this time? Almost everyday.
Am I thankful for this journey? Almost everyday.
I sit here reflecting on the last two years crying… crying with appreciation for the opportunity… crying with realization that I am doing hard things… crying with gratitude that I get to encourage and support the best team… crying because it has been heavy… crying because I truly have the best boss who has believed in me ways I can’t explain… I continue to follow the River..
Too many times we stand aside
And let the waters slip away
Till what we put off till tomorrow
Has now become today
So don’t you sit upon the shoreline
And say you’re satisfied
Choose to chance the rapids
And dare to dance the tide
Amy Bigbee Grosso, PhD 