~to go forth~

The weather turned cooler yesterday here along the Red River and what a blessing that was.  Finally after running the AC for nearly two months nonstop, we could shut it off and give it a break for a change.  Mike dug out his favorite sweatshirt and had it ready if he should need it for the times that he takes Sally the dog for a walk.  We're trying not to get too used to these more comfortable temperatures.  The weatherman is telling us that by Saturday it will return to near the century mark for the day.  

This is Texas.

The days are passing quickly now and this first week back at work has been busy.  We've all been preparing our rooms and getting them ready for the school year that begins in earnest on Monday the 24th.  I love my new school and the people that I will be spending my days with.  I will meet some of "the 120" tonight at our open house and although it will take a while to remember all of their first and last names, I will try my best.  They will probably understand if I make a mistake.

Now I am a teacher of 4th, 5th, and 6th graders.  It's a brand new experience for me and even after teaching for nearly 4 decades, sometimes it seems like my very first year.  That's not a bad thing.  It just is what it is.

The teachers that I had back at Haven Grade School in the 4th, 5th, and 6th grade are now long gone and in their Heavenly home.  I remember them though, even after all of these many years that have passed by.  I was the quiet and shy little girl who loved to spell and strived every year to enter the league spelling contest.  My name is written in the books as a charter member of the "I hate math!" club for my 5th grade year.  I was not good at it and mostly all those numbers swirling around my head made little sense to me at times.  I would rather have been reading, writing, and spelling.  It took a bit of time for math to seem even remotely logical and it is still not my favorite of subjects.  Yet the good news is that finally at long last it did begin to make some sense.

Now, almost 40 years later it is my turn to be the teacher and I'm excited to be able to concentrate on English, spelling, and writing.  There will be plenty of things for children to write about in my classroom during the next 9 months.  One of the things that I'm really interested in hearing about from them is their reaction to the drought being broken this year in May.  It's been a long 5 years for all of this part of Texas as they waited for moisture that just plain didn't arrive.  I would like to hear about the drought from a kid's perspective and as they say here in this part of the world,

"I'm afixin to pretty quickly."


I never imagined that I would be here.  I never figured that I would be led to this part of the world to live and to teach children.  Yet here I am.  For whatever the plan that God has in store for the next years of my life should be, I go forth in faith.
  
I am going to trust and be not afraid.
What else can a person really do?

The fourth grade class of 1963-1964 at Haven Grade School.  Mrs. Bette Harris was our teacher.  Not sure how I actually managed to slide in on the second row instead of the bottom one for a change.  It has to be easy to pick me out but just in case you are still wondering, I'm the little girl in the blue dress standing next to our dear and sweet teacher.  

Life was good then.
Life is still good today.