Friday, June 4, 2010

THE THINGS I'M GOING TO REMEMBER MOST

Working with autistic kids.  (Number one.  Hands down. The job I liked the best.)

Witnessing the 'a-ha' moments, those amazing occasions when one of your struggling students suddenly 'gets it'.

That cold January morning when Mindy got her tongue frozen on a piece of playground equipment.

Hitting a home run  in my last staff/student baseball game.  (Not a huge feat, mind.  But watching that tater sail over the centre field fence... still priceless.)

Cheering them on, watching them mature, and having them drop in years later just to say hi.  (That's better than any home run.)

Kids who seek you out on playground duty to talk about a problem -- usually about 'a friend' who is having difficulty at home.

That warm day in June when Mindy got her arm wedged between two tree branches.  (We needed to call the Fire Dept.)

The yearly visits by 'The Reptile Man'.  (The oohs and ahhs were wonderful.  And that Burmese Python was no slouch, either.)

The smiles.  The missing teeth.  The profound potential.

Working enrichment classes for the really bright kids.  (Damn that was fun.)

Watching them graduate.  (And choking up.)

Receiving at least one marriage proposal per year for twelve years running.

Hearing a kid say you're the best teacher they ever had. (And believing it, if just for a moment.)


Yeah.  I'm ready to retire now.


(Llewellen: a couple of cold Heinekens wouldn't be a bad idea right about now.)

2 comments:

Woozie said...

I remember when I learned Mr. Butler, my 2nd grade teacher retired. I never made it back to visit, never even occurred to me to do so, but it bummed me out a little to think of him never teaching again.

Doctorboogaloo said...

Mr. Butler must have been a gem. Nice that you still remember him fondly.

Yeah. I'm going to miss the kids.