There’s something strange about being a teacher in your 50s.

You’re not new. You’re not even middle-of-the-road. You’re what they call a veteran now.

You’ve survived curriculum changes, new administrators, test scores, parent conferences, and a thousand other stressors that most would never choose. And now? You’re so close to retirement that you can almost hear the final bell echoing in the distance.

And yet… there are still years to go. Kids to teach. Lessons to plan. Noise to manage. Standards to decipher (again).

It’s like being in mile 23 of a marathon and your knees are starting to buckle.

But here’s what I’m learning:
Even in the middle of the exhaustion, joy is still possible.

The Red Threads That Keep Me Going

In his book Love and Work, Marcus Buckingham talks about finding our red threads—the specific parts of our job that still light us up, even just a little.

They may be small. Personal. Quiet.

But they matter.

For me, red threads look like:

• Laughing with my students at indoor recess
• Watching a struggling reader finally take off
• Setting up my classroom in the summer and organizing my materials.
• And now, writing, and sharing this journey with others like me.

They’re not always big or impressive.
But they remind me why I keep going—and why I want to finish well.

The Struggle is Real

If you’re on any social media platform, it seems the negativity surrounding the teaching profession is very loud. Almost deafening.

Teachers are quitting left and right. And rightly so. Teaching is not what it used to be when we started almost three decades ago.

But if you’re like me, you’re too far in to quit. So, we can join the masses, complain, quit, or just be miserable counting the years, months, and days that are left. Just make it through the next days until the next break.

Or, I can hold on to those red threads. The stuff that still speaks to my heart. The things in me that are not yet lost.

What This Space Is For

This blog is a home for teachers like me—and maybe like you.
Teachers who are tired, but still trying.
Teachers who love their students, but also miss themselves.
Teachers who want to retire still standing strong and joyously crossing the finish line, not crawling across it.

If you’re in your 50s and still in the classroom, waiting for that final bell to ring, you’re not alone.
You’re part of a quiet, powerful group of educators with so much wisdom, resilience, and heart. We still have so much to give. They don’t realize it, but they still need us.

What are your red threads?