You can be replaced by a bucket of sand

A good friend of mine once wondered how those dudes that hold the stop/slow signs at road construction sites felt knowing they could be replaced by a bucket of sand. Hilarious? Yes. True? Pretty much.

It illustrates the point that we are all essentially replaceable in our professional lives. No matter how good you are at what you do, someone else can do it just as good, or least do it half assed enough to get the job done. I encountered this phenomena when I went on maternity leave and it honestly never occurred to me prior to that how unimportant my existence really is. I'm not saying this in a pity me kinda way, either. I'm saying it in a, 'holy shit, the world CAN turn without me!' kinda way.

I remember my last day of work before I went on maternity leave. The kids and I had a great day...we learned, we laughed, we cried...they threw me a party. It was awesome and I was looking forward to relaxing and having some time to myself before the baby came and I had to say good-bye to ever being alone again. The next morning I woke up, you would think, relaxed, but no! I woke in a panic thinking, 'Oh my god!! The kids have Math this morning...I have to go teach Math...if I'm not there how will the LEARN MATH??!!' Hilarious? Yes. True? Not so much.

Yep, there was someone there to teach them Math, and Language Arts and (Gasp!) Science! Someone could REPLACE me!! My head was spinning with the epiphany I had...I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Considering I was 9 months pregnant I'm pretty sure I had a good chuckle.

The silver lining in this story that keeps me going? It was an actual human being, NOT a bucket of sand, that replaced me. I mean, buckets of sand have pretty much met their calling when it comes to holding a stop/slow sign. But in front of a classroom full of students, not so much. It's ridiculous to even think that a bucket of sand could replace a teacher. First of all, the bucket of sand would never make it out of university. The first person that put a cigarette out in them would make them feel worthless, dirty and used. They'd quit, because they are notorious for being quitters. Secondly, if they somehow miraculously made it through university and actually found themselves in front of a classroom full of students, a stop/slow sign would NOT work. I know, I tried.