Thirteen dedicated women, each of whom devoted more than 30 years (according to my math, that's a minimum of 390 years) to the students and families of ISD 622, have graduated!
Though several of them return to school as substitute teachers, and several others volunteer their time as tutors for students who are learning to speak English, and though there is still one (the youngest) who has a few more courses to teach before she can collect her diploma (and her pension), they've found that the rewards of retirement are spectacular.
Meeting monthly to talk about books, sample fabulous food, and catch up on traveling adventures, family events, and school rumors, the happy teachers have discovered not only the joy of finishing the race, but also the bond of shared lives that come from working side by side for 30+ years.
If you listen, you'll hear stories of crazy antics performed by students, wild escapades of otherwise mild-mannered educators, shoulder-to-shoulder stand offs which pitted colleagues against colleagues, or more often against administrators! You'll hear lots of laughter and the occasional sigh, as the memories of the old stories come back to life. You might not hear, but you'd certainly sense the underlying conversations of the other stories...stories that span 30 years of friendship: the challenges of children, marriage, and elderly parents, the demands of a high energy career, and the struggles of maintaining good health in the face of aging (slightly).
And so we meet to talk about books. Beginning our third year, we've read everything from The Kite Runner and The Devil in the White City to The Memory Keeper's Daughter and The Glass Castle. We assume our roles as discussion leaders and participants; we play school and ask each other questions.
In December we exchanged Christmas ornaments, and Joan and Sue made a game out of the exchange.
We're planning a field trip to Chicago in June. I suppose we'll have to look for chaperones and hire a bus!
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