One of the first activities that our principal planned for us on that initial teacher workday in mid-August was to get us out of the school and onto the playground for a chance to get to know one another. It was a simple game of sorts, as "ice breakers" go. We each carried out a coloured, rubber dot from the PE box and made ourselves into a circle on the cement slab adjacent to the building. The idea was pretty simple~one person stood in the middle and called out a question to the others. The question always started the same......"I want to know.......". If you could answer the question then you had to run and claim another person's "dot". The last one out had to ask the next question. The whole purpose was to ask those burning questions that we all have of one another. You know those kind, right? Like who always flosses their teeth, has ever gotten a speeding ticket, has grandkids, etc., etc. Since we all had to inevitably take our turns at this, I began to think about what I would ask. It wasn't difficult at all to formulate my question and when it came my time to be in the middle, I asked about something that had been on my mind.
The little, short "flatlander" stood in the middle and with a voice from deep inside of her yelled out, "I want to know if any of you have ever been to MY home state of Kansas?" Looking out at all of them, I figured no one would even move to a new dot but to my surprise several did. I couldn't believe it! And out of the crowd, a little voice yelled back at me.... "Peggy, I'm FROM Kansas too!"
You know that day, I could have cried right there and they would not have been tears of sadness for missing my home but ones of JOY for realizing that there was a fellow Kansan in that crowd of people. It was as if someone played "Home on the Range" just for me or brought me a diet vanilla Pepsi from Bogey's at that very moment in time. That was the turning point for me in the realization that I didn't have to look for where I should be any longer. After months of searching, I was already there.
Meet Claire Hastings, one of the second grade teachers from Olathe Elementary and a native Kansan herself. She's just a kid, the age of my own children so I guess that means I'm old enough to be her mom or her favourite aunt or something. Claire was born in Topeka and spent her growing up years in the Sunflower State. Now she lives here in south western Colorado where she and her husband are raising their family. This young lady was born to be a teacher, a great one she already is and now we are friends. That makes me very happy.
My journey to life as a school teacher along the western side of the great Continental Divide was one of the strangest treks I have ever made. And since I've had some unusual journeys long before this one arrived, I think that says something for itself. If you would have asked me last year at this time, shoot even at the beginning of the summer if I thought I would be doing this, I'd have said, "No way!" But here I am. Oh yeah, and here's a thought to hold close to my heart....It may have been totally unplanned by me but it was ALWAYS in the design of the Master Planner himself. I just didn't know it.
I have said it before in this blog but it bears repeating once again. I love what goes on inside of this building and there plenty of good things going on to choose from. The staff here, no matter what their position is, sticks together. People take care of one another at Olathe Elementary; there is only one clique and everyone in this building belongs to it. When I have questions, I can ask anyone who walks along the hallway. If they don't know the answer, they always direct me to the person who does. People smile and laugh in this place, work diligently with much vigor and show up every single day for one purpose only~to educate, nurture and love the nearly 500 students that attend here. Everyone's backs are covered here with a fierce protection of love and concern. I know where I belong and that place is here.
Well, it's 5:15 where I'm at and soon time to get dressed and head to school. It's just a short drive for me along Highway 50, about 10 miles up the road. Dang, that's just like driving from Haven to Yoder back home in Kansas. The car knows the way to go~I could get there with my eyes closed, but I promise you that I won't. The calendar says we are in the single digits now, with only 9 more sleeps to go until we come back home again. Ironic as it may seem, I won't be the only teacher needing a substitute during that 4 day span of time that arrives very soon. Claire and her family are returning to Kansas as well then for a planned journey to the south central Kansas town of Winfield. We'll only be about 90 minutes apart from one another the entire time. Kind of a nice feeling to know that they will be there and as we travel back to Colorado on that Monday, somewhere along the road they will be right behind us.
From Montrose, Colorado where the skies are clear and the temperature stands at 46 degrees right now, I send you greetings and best wishes for a beautiful Tuesday. It's the first day of October everyone in the year 2013. I'm predicting at day's end it will have been a great day to be alive in. I'm gonna do what the "Good Book" admonishes us all to do...rejoice and give thanks in it. See you soon KANSAS :)
Once a Haven Wildcat, always one.
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