Research on the experiences of teacher leaders returning to classroom teaching (Fiarman, 2007; Munroe, 2013, 2014a) has indicated that this career change is complex and often fraught with unanticipated tensions and frustrations such that the potential contribution of these returning teacher leaders is not realized. We explore the experience of a teacher leader who returned to the classroom well-informed about the possible tensions and challenges she might face. Although she experienced stresses similar to those of other returning teacher leaders, her awareness of potential tensions normalized her feelings and helped her to advocate for herself. We conclude the paper with suggestions for district personnel, school administrators, and returning teacher leaders to optimize the contribution to student achievement and school improvement of returning teacher leaders.