~and Pat was one of them~

I received word that a woman I once worked with back home at Avenue A and Lincoln Elementary Schools in Hutchinson had passed away yesterday morning.  Pat was a library clerk at each of the buildings and was always such a sweet and kind lady to be around.  She loved her job and all of the kids who would bring up their books to her at the counter to check them out.  It's been a while that I've seen her but I will remember her smile and the laugh that she always had.  She is one woman who will be missed by so many people on this earth.  If I were going to say the one thing I recall about her the most then it would have to be the day that she came into my classroom of first graders and helped to teach one of the things that I love the most.

That autumn day she helped to teach my favorite subject of all.
Life's lessons.

During the time I was teaching first grade at Lincoln, now nearly 15 years ago, Pat found out she had cancer.  The experience of trying to fight that battle was not a fun one but Pat kept such a good spirit about her.  When chemotherapy took her short brown hair, she took to wearing a wig.  I remember one day at school while I was visiting with her in the library, she spoke of how she really hadn't liked having to do that.  I will always remember what she told me that day.

"This wig itches!  It's hot and I don't really like it.  Sometimes I just wish I could take it off and go without."

We continued to visit a while longer and before leaving her to go pick up my class from PE, I asked her if she would mind coming in to talk with my kids.  I wanted her to explain a bit about what she was going through and if she felt comfortable enough, to take off the wig to show my students why she had to wear one.  I wasn't sure what her reaction would be but with a huge smile on her face she said she would be glad to.

That very afternoon Pat came in to our classroom.  I'd visited with the kids for just a moment before she arrived explaining to them a bit about what she wanted to do.  I had no idea what their reaction would be but when it was all over they did just as I predicted they would.

They loved that dear woman even more.

In my book, Pat had a lot of courage and she showed it that day by doing something that I'm not sure I could do.  As she told the kids that her wig was hot and scratchy, she reached up to pull it off and exposed her very bald head.  It was as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders and we could almost see her breathe a sigh of relief.  I'm pretty sure that the kids, now college age, don't have one memory of what their teacher taught them that day but I do know that they remember what Pat taught them.  

Until my own dying day I shall forever maintain that children deserve to know the truth.  They need to be taught the lessons of life and believe me when I tell you that you will never in a gazillion years find those lessons in a teacher's plan book.  There are no state standards that call for them to be exposed to students.  Perhaps when everything is all said and done, it's better that way.

In just a few weeks I will begin my 38th year of teaching and it's remarkable to think that more than nearly 4 decades of my life have been devoted to the education of youth.  I didn't get to this point in time on my own.  I could not have done it without the help, guidance, and love of a whole lot of people.  

Pat Story was one of them.

I met Pat while I was a "Lincoln Eagle" and for her and all the others who became my friends for life back at USD 308 in Hutchinson, I give thanks.