You gotta Pay to…

Warning: this is a post about using the bathroom.

I’ve been looking for a new job lately. While pay is a big factor in this search, there is another large, looming criteria I am looking at in this casual search.


Can I pee whenever I need to?

#teacherproblems right? But for real life here people. My health is pretty dang important to me, and I really do see and feel a difference when I don’t drink as much water as I’m “supposed” to. I can feel it and see it, and, unfortunately, my mood does too.

There are days when I’m just fine. But there are days when I’m trying to drink more water throughout the day. Which means I need to pee more which means I’m holding it a long time. Even to the point where it’s painful. Or, since I’ve given birth, to the point where I literally cannot hold it in anymore.

I mean, I could get myself some depends, but what 30 something year old wants to do that?

Which leads me to a less talked about issue with being a teacher: is our health worth the payoff we get from our work?

Low pay and long hours is a given. Some teachers are doing a great job fighting for better wages and hours. Not to mention all the money we spend on things our children in our classrooms need. Yet physical, and mental, health is hardly ever brought into the picture.

Which leads some of us to the point that I am personally at in my career: Do I leave a job I love just because I need to pee?