How I "Deal" (aka why I still love my job)

Today one of my many teacher friends asked me how do I "deal". How do I deal with our messed up educational system, our lack of funding, the new evaluation system, etc. Despite all the extra work resulting in longer days and the extra tasks and data collecting and what have you I can honestly say that this (so far) has been the best/most enjoyable year of my career. So why is that? After a moment of reflection, followed later by some more deeper reflecting, this is what I came up with: How I "Deal" (aka why I still love my job): 1. God's grace - it's the truth. There is no better, easier, simpler, truer explanation. I can't imagine doing this job without Jesus right beside. I don't know how people do it. 2. I do the best I can to be positive. I put a smile on my face, I trust that people have good intentions, and whenever I can I avoid listening to grumbling and complaining. That I feel is the biggest thing. Complaining is contagious, and never helpful. 3. I know that whatever happens it is not the end of the world. This whole new evaluation system doesn't scare me. Why? Because I know that I am a good teacher. I know I am not the best and I can always get better. But I know that I have my kids best interests at heart: academically, socially, emotionally.