Adventuresome

I wore high heels during three of the five days in this work week.  That was ridiculous. 


In happier news, a substitute teacher in our building, this really lovely woman that we all love for her timelessness and cheerfulness, came all the way across the school to sit with me and talk a little during our common preps.  I learned today that she knows when I have a free hour, and that she is willing to walk across the entire school to have a conversation.  As soon as she came into my room, I happily shut down all thoughts of grading tests, and there we sat, while it began to snow again, and basically we talked about adventures. 

This woman is maybe 70 years old, and had my very job for about 40 years.  She likes to talk shop.  What I love is that she is without guile.  When she forgets things, she turns to me and says, 'Which battle am I thinking of?'  And I will tell her, and she will exclaim loudly with the same word, and she is back on track.  She still likes to be someone's teacher, even at 70, and I find this inspiring. 

Earlier in the week, I admitted to her that I was in a low, depleted place.  I was doing that inner transition from 3rd quarter to 4th quarter, and it was tough.  She knows the feeling, probably 40 times over. And she said a really simple thing that made me laugh really hard. 

'Pardon my language, but once the shitty weather dissipates, things will get better, won't they?'  




And she was talking about my mood, the kids going stir crazy, new inspiration for lesson planning...all of it.  Hearing someone with a British acccent say 'when this shitty weather dissipates' was somehow really good medicine for the soul.

  Being at the end of the hall makes me realize that almost every time someone walks into my room, it feels like this great surprise.  She sat down at one of the chairs and asked me about the things that were filling my mind.  We talked about travel, and childhoods and siblings and what it's like to teach in the deep south as opposed to right here.  (That's when she needed help with the word 'Vicksburg' and shouted it triumphantly back at me.)  And I showed her the itinerary we have this year and she marveled over it with me.  Last year she was the one who helped me figure out that you really can feel homesick by the sea. 

But basically the world is adventuresome, and she has not forgotten that at all.   Talking to someone like her is really one of the nicest ways to end the week.