Helping with the Halloween Festival this year gave me the unusual opportunity to return to the school, see the kids and old friends. I stood by the chalkboard in my former classroom, looked out the windows, and passed by my old desk with a few tears in my eyes. I loved teaching in that room. By the end of the two-hour event I was purely exhausted. Medical disability was the right decision. I probably should have left teaching even sooner than I did, evident in the fact that I had parts of my disability application already turned in for years. Giving into something I don’t want has never been my style. I am extremely grateful for the State of Alaska’s teacher disability program which gives me the financial security to stay home and take care of me.