~Thyme to Go Home, On the Road to Somewhere, Part 2~
~Thyme to go Home~
On the road to somewhere
Part 2 of 3
There wasn't a whole lot of discussion in the living room at Mike's house in Montrose, Colorado that April evening in 2013. Both of us had already decided a few weeks before that we would get married when school was finished in May that year. The only thing we had not decided was where our wedding would be. I remember quite clearly how I broached the subject when after supper that evening I said to Mike,
Instead, he simply said "ok".
And so that settled it.
We would be getting married at school.
There was less than a month to figure out how that would work out logistically. After much consideration and discussion with my principal at the elementary school I was teaching at back in Hutchinson, we scheduled our wedding for the last day of school on May 21st. The "appointed" time was 4 p.m. which allowed for the school day to be complete and kids to be dismissed for summer vacation. I'd made my mind up that each child who was a student at Lincoln Elementary, whether I had them in my class or not, would be invited along with their parents or other family members. In the two weeks prior, I ended up addressing an invitation to each of them in hopes they would come. As it turned out, nearly every child came back with one of their parents less than 20 minutes after the building had been emptied at day's end.
The gym was our sanctuary and we stood underneath the most romantic basketball goal available. Friends that I taught with back in Hutchinson worked together to transform what only a few hours earlier was the cafeteria, into a place where two people could exchange their marriage vows. Sweet acquaintances, friends, and family members baked cookies and set up a lovely assortment of refreshments. There were children EVERYWHERE but you would have not have known it. It was so quiet that we hardly realized they were sitting all around us.
At 4:30 p.m. we were greeting guests, hugging children, and saying our good-byes to a lifetime of friendships. Three days later, we were on our way back to Montrose to begin a new life there.
I wasn't sure that I would teach again. I had already gone 3 years past my original retirement date and to be honest, I thought I'd be fine just looking for something else to do. It's a long story, quite complicated to be sure, but by August of 2013 with only 1 week to spare before school began, I was hired to teach the fourth grade at Olathe Elementary School, just up the road a ways from Montrose.
Another person's heartache became my greatest blessing.
It was a bittersweet feeling to be hired to take over the classroom of a woman who was dying of cancer. I only met her once when she stopped in at school to show me where things were. I felt bad for her, extremely sorrowful that in order for me to have this position, someone else had to give it up first. I think she sensed my sadness about it and after she hugged me, that sweet woman reassured me that everything would be fine and that she was really happy and most thankful that I had come there to do what she no longer would be able to.
She passed away later on that school year.
I stayed on at Olathe for another year, this time moving to one of the first grade classrooms down the hallway. There was a need for an additional teacher and my principal, a great man named Joe, asked me if I'd mind moving to a new teaching assignment for the next school year. Gladly I accepted! Many good friendships and strong relationships with children were made during those two years. What a blessing that little mountain community was to me. I was suffering with homesickness for my beloved Kansas and my time spent there with them allowed me to be of service to them and their wonderful students. I felt valued and welcomed by them all and that was something I desperately needed. The Olathe community helped to pick up the slack, saving Mike and I much heartache and perhaps even our own marriage.
In the spring of 2015, Mike's job was downsized and hours were cut. One thing led to another and we decided that our best bet would be to move where he could find a different job as well as get closer to family who needed us to be there for help. So on a cool morning in late May, we packed up our belongings and headed south and east towards a new home in Burkburnett, Texas. That community along the Red River on the border of Oklahoma and Texas was to be our new home for the next 4 years. My sister Sherry and brother-in-law Wes lived only an hour's drive away in Altus, Oklahoma. Mike's Aunt Margaret lived only 40 minutes to the south in Olney, Texas. What a blessing it was to be able to see them more often and help them in any way that was needed. In particular, it was Aunt Margaret who was glad for us to be there. She had entered long term care not only a week or two after we arrived. Each weekend for that entire first summer, we drove back and forth to Olney so we could spend time with her. In retrospect how thankful we were to have made those many trips. The many miles and hours spent driving back and forth between Burkburnett and Olney were more than worth it. Aunt Margaret died in October, only 5 months after we had arrived.
At least we had the summer.
Sadly, Sherry and Wes didn't live a whole lot longer. In the summer of 2017, only two short years after we arrived, Sherry died after a long struggle with COPD and other health issues. Wes passed on just a few months later of complications of the flu and pneumonia. By the spring of 2018 the 3 folks we had come in order to be a help to had all passed away. Things didn't seem to get any better when Mike's job as manager of the hardware store in Burkburnett was gone when the business closed its doors in mid-March of 2018. We began to think our best thing to do would be to head back towards Kansas. It was time to go home.
And so we did just that.
We went home.
To be continued in part 3~
On the road to somewhere
Part 2 of 3
There wasn't a whole lot of discussion in the living room at Mike's house in Montrose, Colorado that April evening in 2013. Both of us had already decided a few weeks before that we would get married when school was finished in May that year. The only thing we had not decided was where our wedding would be. I remember quite clearly how I broached the subject when after supper that evening I said to Mike,
"I think we should get married at school in front of all the kids. What do you think about that? Is that ok with you?"I waited for him to say "no" to that idea.
Instead, he simply said "ok".
And so that settled it.
We would be getting married at school.
There was less than a month to figure out how that would work out logistically. After much consideration and discussion with my principal at the elementary school I was teaching at back in Hutchinson, we scheduled our wedding for the last day of school on May 21st. The "appointed" time was 4 p.m. which allowed for the school day to be complete and kids to be dismissed for summer vacation. I'd made my mind up that each child who was a student at Lincoln Elementary, whether I had them in my class or not, would be invited along with their parents or other family members. In the two weeks prior, I ended up addressing an invitation to each of them in hopes they would come. As it turned out, nearly every child came back with one of their parents less than 20 minutes after the building had been emptied at day's end.
The gym was our sanctuary and we stood underneath the most romantic basketball goal available. Friends that I taught with back in Hutchinson worked together to transform what only a few hours earlier was the cafeteria, into a place where two people could exchange their marriage vows. Sweet acquaintances, friends, and family members baked cookies and set up a lovely assortment of refreshments. There were children EVERYWHERE but you would have not have known it. It was so quiet that we hardly realized they were sitting all around us.
At 4:30 p.m. we were greeting guests, hugging children, and saying our good-byes to a lifetime of friendships. Three days later, we were on our way back to Montrose to begin a new life there.
I wasn't sure that I would teach again. I had already gone 3 years past my original retirement date and to be honest, I thought I'd be fine just looking for something else to do. It's a long story, quite complicated to be sure, but by August of 2013 with only 1 week to spare before school began, I was hired to teach the fourth grade at Olathe Elementary School, just up the road a ways from Montrose.
Another person's heartache became my greatest blessing.
It was a bittersweet feeling to be hired to take over the classroom of a woman who was dying of cancer. I only met her once when she stopped in at school to show me where things were. I felt bad for her, extremely sorrowful that in order for me to have this position, someone else had to give it up first. I think she sensed my sadness about it and after she hugged me, that sweet woman reassured me that everything would be fine and that she was really happy and most thankful that I had come there to do what she no longer would be able to.
She passed away later on that school year.
I stayed on at Olathe for another year, this time moving to one of the first grade classrooms down the hallway. There was a need for an additional teacher and my principal, a great man named Joe, asked me if I'd mind moving to a new teaching assignment for the next school year. Gladly I accepted! Many good friendships and strong relationships with children were made during those two years. What a blessing that little mountain community was to me. I was suffering with homesickness for my beloved Kansas and my time spent there with them allowed me to be of service to them and their wonderful students. I felt valued and welcomed by them all and that was something I desperately needed. The Olathe community helped to pick up the slack, saving Mike and I much heartache and perhaps even our own marriage.
In the spring of 2015, Mike's job was downsized and hours were cut. One thing led to another and we decided that our best bet would be to move where he could find a different job as well as get closer to family who needed us to be there for help. So on a cool morning in late May, we packed up our belongings and headed south and east towards a new home in Burkburnett, Texas. That community along the Red River on the border of Oklahoma and Texas was to be our new home for the next 4 years. My sister Sherry and brother-in-law Wes lived only an hour's drive away in Altus, Oklahoma. Mike's Aunt Margaret lived only 40 minutes to the south in Olney, Texas. What a blessing it was to be able to see them more often and help them in any way that was needed. In particular, it was Aunt Margaret who was glad for us to be there. She had entered long term care not only a week or two after we arrived. Each weekend for that entire first summer, we drove back and forth to Olney so we could spend time with her. In retrospect how thankful we were to have made those many trips. The many miles and hours spent driving back and forth between Burkburnett and Olney were more than worth it. Aunt Margaret died in October, only 5 months after we had arrived.
At least we had the summer.
Sadly, Sherry and Wes didn't live a whole lot longer. In the summer of 2017, only two short years after we arrived, Sherry died after a long struggle with COPD and other health issues. Wes passed on just a few months later of complications of the flu and pneumonia. By the spring of 2018 the 3 folks we had come in order to be a help to had all passed away. Things didn't seem to get any better when Mike's job as manager of the hardware store in Burkburnett was gone when the business closed its doors in mid-March of 2018. We began to think our best thing to do would be to head back towards Kansas. It was time to go home.
And so we did just that.
We went home.
To be continued in part 3~
~Our brand new life together began in the most unlikely of places.~
Lincoln Elementary School
Hutchinson, Kansas
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