In the year 2525.....or was that 2021?

 Do you remember when you were a wee lad or lassie in Grade 1?  Or Great 1 as I recall?  No?  Well I do! Mrs Pauls...the kindest teacher in my one room school; or the smell of Plastiscine?  How about the weird pink rubber tipped glue bottles ...new friends, new skills, books like  Dick and Jane?  “Run Spot, run.”  Ahh yes, descriptive prose that a young prairie kid could commit to memory, forever.  I loved elementary school.  Yes I really did...with a few wonderful teachers, who didn’t yell or get vengeful if I got carried away at recess while climbing trees, or if I just walked home because I missed mom. 

Was I just lucky to live in a small rural village, Where seems people took the saying “it takes a village to raise a child” seriously?  Perhaps not so lucky when your friends mom would punish you both with a swat on the tush, but what about snacks of warm muffins, or a sandwich when hanging out in the yard.  Weak Koolaid. Sitting in the grass picking wild strawberries?   It was bliss.  In those carefree days,  when the biggest problem I  had to face was: could I ride my bike faster than my friends?  Which I could, but occasionally resulted in a gravelly crash!  

Now in my new role as an Education Assistant, working with a young man in Grade 9, then hanging out with grades 1, 2, and 3 I find it’s the remedy for Covid.  To see that what I do actually helps a child learn new things,  to build their confidence, and then make them smile and laugh is keeping me sane.  Filling me with joy and hope.  Best yet, I can act goofy with the Wee ones, make them giggle, sing and dance and feel like a kid again!   Its like a tonic for my soul.  Bliss!

These experiences bring me closer to my Dad, Big Al, the kiddies pal.  A career teacher.  One of the best.  I miss him, and many times find myself wishing I could ask for  advice, or share a success.  I remember dad telling  us how many many years ago he'd take the students outside at the little country schools, where they'd break for an afternoon of playing softball, or a weiner roast...or even go catch gophers! And so I recapture some of that youthful bliss every day hanging with the youngsters.  He’d be proud of me.  So this my dear readers, seems to be where after a long, circuitous route, I am meant to be.  Filled with satisfaction, happiness, sometimes exhaustion but always thankful for the learnings. 

So Covid be damned, tomorrow I am going to school to make a difference.  🤓