Along the Road to Home

~5 years ago today in the mountains of southwestern Colorado~ You know, I never once entertained the notion that I would live in Colorado, let alone teach there.  Not a single time did that vision ever come upon the radar screen.  Yet I was there in 2015 as I finished up my last year as a Colorado teacher at Olathe Elementary School, a small mountain community only a short drive from our home in Montrose. I happened upon this picture just now, a happy memory of a time on that day 5 years ago.  It shows a very blessed teacher outside on the school parking lot having the time of her life with a first grade class of more than 20 students.  We were learning about bubbles and I don't know how much academia was involved in this particular activity, but quite honestly I don't think I even cared.  All I knew was that the kids were having fun and oh yes..... So was I. Fast forward 5 years into the future and here I am.  We are the in the middle of...

I'm thankful for so many good memories of this final year in the classroom,  one that will end up being the most strangely memorable of them all.  Even though normalcy was cut short at the 75% mark of completion, we actually were able to get through quite a bit in our fifth grade classroom.  When I stop to look at things and reflect on what all the kids and I did  accomplish, it gives a sense of deep pride. One of the fun reading activities we did was to enjoy a special book together in the latter part of January and early February.  Each day I would do a teacher read aloud during our language arts block of time.  Afterwards, we would add in accompanying activities that allowed the kids to share their interpretation of the book with others.  The story was such a good one that we almost hated to see the final chapter arrive.  I honestly believe that we could have read that book  forever and still have wanted to read it more. In the book, ...

~Kay County, Oklahoma on Day #10 of continuous learning~ As a teacher, one of the most valuable things of which I have been reminded in the days of the virus is this.   Building strong and viable relationships with students and their families is one of the greatest assets any educator can have going for them in the time of continuous learning from home.  I am most thankful for the wonderful family partnerships that I have found within my 5th grade classroom this year at Liberty Elementary School.  During over 4 decades in the business of education I have always been grateful for that, but I am even more so now. The last month of my career in education finds me on one side of a computer screen as I try my best to navigate the kids and their parents through the maze of assignments on our continuous learning plan. It's not been the easiest of things. Not for the kids.   Not for their parents. And surely not for their teacher. Yet not a one of us h...

~and so I had to start somewhere~ The days on the calendar that reflect the month of April, even in the times of staying safely at home, are still flying by at record speed.  If they are moving by this quickly while staying away from school, I can only imagine how fast they would be moving if I were with my 5th graders.  Between remaining connected with my students "virtually" as we work through continuous learning and keeping up with things at home, one thing is for sure. I've not been bored. There just hasn't been enough time for that. Except for a few moments that I have waivered back and forth about the decision to retire from education, I am finding myself in the acceptance phase right now and that's a really good place to be.  I suppose that it's only human to once in a while feel sadness and long for that which is familiar and certain.  It will get better.  My career isn't going to end like I always pictured that it would, but you know what?...

Sooner or later, it will be permissible to return to school once again.   We just have to wait and be patient. Easier said than done. I have thought about how strange it will feel to turn the key and unlock my classroom door when the time comes that it is deemed safe to reenter.  It will be a very humbling experience for me and I fully expect a tear to fall.  Other teachers will be returning also as they finish up what is left to do before leaving until school resumes in the fall.   It will be different for me. I will be packing all of my things as I prepare to not return again. It seems like months since I was last with my students in our 5th grade classroom, when in reality it hasn't even been quite 4 weeks.  The things that decorated the hallway right outside our classroom door are still there, hanging and awaiting our return.  It seems so ironic to me now that one of the things I chose for them to do was to make their top 10 list o...

~one final month to go~ This picture of my dad and I means the world to me.  It was taken in May of 1979 on the Sterling College football field after I graduated at long last from college.  I had taken an extra year and a half to complete my degree in elementary education, almost quitting at one point because transferring hours from one college to another had become nearly impossible.  In the end, it all came out in the wash as they say.  With a degree in my hand and a teaching position waiting for me in my hometown of Haven, I set forth to spend my life as an educator. Daddy was only 56 years old when this picture was taken.  I remember him finding me after commencement was completed and I could tell by the look on his face how proud he was of me.  I have the recollection of rushing up to him and grabbing his neck in a big hug as I thanked him for being there for me, not just on that particular day but always.  Three years later, he would die ...

~and now that life has changed~ In the early spring of 2018, Mike lost his job as the manager of the hardware store in Burkburnett, Texas.  For 3 years it had been his "home away from home" and oh how he loved to be there and of service to the people of that fine community along the Red River in northern Texas.  When the store had to close due to a slow economy locally, it was a tough blow to all the people who worked there.  It was a time to regroup for us as Mike set about finding a new job as quickly as he could.   The new opportunity would arrive about 7 weeks later when he was able to find a position in Wichita Falls with a local business there. Mike dearly loved his job as the manager of Hayes Hardware in Burkburnett. That interim of 7 weeks with no paycheck was one that might have been filled with desperation, depression, and a general lack of a good attitude.  It was a humbling experience for both of us.  Mike could have simply pulled ...

~Saturday morning in Kay County, Oklahoma~ It was cold yesterday morning and the porch had a glaze of ice upon it as Mike and I ventured down to the church and picked up some things for delivery to our St. John Lutheran church members.  Holy Week is about to start and our pastor asked if we would mind helping to deliver some hymnals, weekly bulletins, daily devotional booklets, and the sermon notes to our fellow parishioners.  Three other members took care of folks who live outside of Newkirk as well as those who reside in the Blackwell, Oklahoma area.  A text went out to all who would find them placed upon their porches so they would know to look for them sometime Friday morning.  It didn't take us long to do our part here in Newkirk and gave us the blessing of being able to do something for another person in these times when there is little to do but wait, be patient, and stay at least 6 feet away from one another. I wish I could do more to help but now at leas...

~from along life's way~ I realized yesterday just how much the concept of nurturing has become a part of the person I am.  I was cutting up the peels of yet another banana in order to feed the newly transplanted rose bushes that are now in the front flower bed.  It felt good to walk out with the day's potassium offering to the final rose bush, one that had been patiently waiting its turn to receive some.  I have to admit that I actually spoke to it as I nestled the blackened bits of the banana's skin alongside of the roots. "There you go!  I hope this helps you to grow." For some strange reason, I had already taken home the 9 plants that were in my classroom at Liberty shortly before spring break.  Perhaps it was because I realized that it would be easier to take care of them here instead of driving back to Ponca City two or three times during our break.  As it turns out now, our "break" from the school building itself is much longer than we woul...