After working all morning Saturday, a trip to school was necessary to see if my next door teacher was working in her classroom. I expected she wouldn’t be, it being a beautiful and rainy Saturday. Without a phone number or email address, I couldn’t contact her. It was the first day I opened the large parking lot gate with my very own key, drove through and locked it behind me. An extra procedure making everything all the more real. With no other teachers in sight, I’d just drop off a few things and go back home. It’d been worth a try.
Driving to my room, I travel through the land of “Oh Goodness, please don’t let me hit this or that”. Teachers love driving their cars to their door instead of taking countless trips with a moving cart. After missing all the obstacles by the cafeteria and rounding the back of the 4th grade wing, the treacherous part begins. The GRAVEL. I’ve been told three times that I’ll get stuck if I do not have 4-wheel-drive. Thank goodness Barbie’s Jeep came equipped with that and I know how to engage it. Whew.
So,
Over the gravel,
And threw the courts,
To Room 56 I go.
It’s quite a trek, even in a vehicle. No car was parked outside my neighbor’s classroom, and I will say, I felt a little sad. She’s the best co-teacher friend. Her smile and twinkling eyes just make everything better! She shines when she talks about her littles. She has Kindergarten experience, so I plan to learn a lot from her.
Entering my classroom, I breathe in my future. I really wish I could sleep there. It’s adorable in every way, but especially because of the mural with six wild mustangs galloping across the desert. Looking in the hallway for an interesting cast offs and finding nothing, my neighbor surprised me as she popped out of her room!!!!! She WAS there!!!! Yes! Yes! Yes!
Just like a new 1st grader, I showed her the daily schedule I’d put together. She told me of a grade level meeting on Monday morning meeting at 10. We exchanged phone numbers and contact information. I told her about Adopting a Cow and she was so excited we almost danced in delight.
I stapled up some silk sunflowers on my “Buzz Into our Hive” bulletin board. I plan do a picture blog this week to show you the most beautiful room in the world. Room 56.
Yesterday, another miracle occurred. A most important woman to me, (regularly tending to my hair), saw me at 3PM! I had so many wonderful things stored up to tell her, but it was she that had the biggest surprise of all. There’s a 2023 Valentine she just can’t wait to meet! Her new February baby! A baby I will get to hear about on a regular basis! She even invited me to give him or her a little pat yesterday! What family is complete without littles running around? My desert family is no different and I plan to be a really good honorary Grandma. With 2 sisters in high school, this tiny little will be a window into what my life looked like when I was born, when my two oldest sisters were in high school. My friend’s oldest son is 19! With three high school kids and a 5th grader, she’ll have lots of help.
Driving home with a huge smile, I wonder if people think I’m pretending. How could one woman feel so good? It doesn’t seem right or possible she is me at this time in life. I’ll continue to smile, causing people to wonder just what’s going on with that woman who lives within the walls of Winterpast. “What’s up with that one????” they’ll whisper. It’ll just cause me to smile more.
Regarding college, all assignments are now submitted and class ends tomorrow. Yesterday, I calculated a worse case scenario. In order to get a C my class, I’d need to bomb the final assignment. At 30 very intense pages, although not exactly my best work, it’s far from F quality. So, now, we wait with a renewed credential depending on a passing grade. I’m at the final sprint with an A- and the heat is on. With 20 + students all turning in 30 to 40 page assignments, it may be awhile before I learn my fate. I assure you, as soon as I do, you will know the outcome. This was my very last attempt at college life. And, no. There was not even one wild party. The college experience of today isn’t as it was in the 1900’s.
God holds all of us in his hands. At this moment in time, he’s presented me with a summer full of the most lovely miracles. New friends. A career, refreshed and alive with wonder. A home dearly loved. Grown children and grandchildren thriving in their own worlds. A new baby to celebrate. Acceptance and appreciation that I am enough. It took a life time for that realization. I don’t need anything else for personal validation. Not a mother. Not a father. Not a husband, boyfriend, or neighbor. Friends and family are wonderful jewels that enrich my life, but at the end of the day, with Jesus as my Savior, I’m enough in my own skin. 66.5 years it took to grasp that concept. Slow learner, I guess. Maybe I’ve really been a C student all along.
Whatever you do today, be kind to yourself. Remember the good parts of your day before you close your eyes to go to sleep. Be grateful for all the beautiful things in life. We are blessed every day with the wonder of life. Just focus on the good. The bad will work itself out because, as we all know, nothing lasts forever.
More tomorrow.