Dear Friends,
Lots of quiet time in the classroom yesterday. Not when the kids were there, though. They were very excited to have a true half day. I don’t know what it is about a day that is different from the rest, but it makes the natives restless. You would think, and I reminded them of this, that knowing I would be speaking to their parents later would help them stay somewhat sane.
It did not.
I really liked a few of the parents I met yesterday. It is easy to see why they have great kids. They care, are involved as much as they can be, and want to know about the lives their children lead during the day. I wish all of them were like this.
Some do not even have a question for me when we start. As a parent, I always want to know what my kids are doing at school and how they are doing, both academically and socially. Even if it is just a short question or something that seems inconsequential, I still want them to ask. As much as I work for their children, I also feel I work for the parents, too. It’s part of my job to help them sleep a bit easier at night if I can.
I have one more conference today and a few makeups next week. I’m guessing a few of the parents will never talk to me. It’s okay. It doesn’t hurt my feelings. It does make me feel a bit sad for the kids, but I also get that life is hard for everyone.
Before I make any more excuses, I will move on to a different topic from the school house.
I’m still kind of the new guy around here. People are friendly enough and helpful, too, but they keep their distance. I wonder if I put out a vibe like I am unapproachable? I don’t think I give that out, but maybe I do. I’m not here to make friends, that’s for sure, and maybe that is apparent, but I do like to get to know people a little bit.
As I write this I realize that I am pretty greedy about any downtime I have. I tend to spend it in my classroom enjoying the quiet. Several of the other members of my team congregate for lunch a lot in the team leader's classroom. Perhaps I need to go to a few of these, but then I’d have to give up my quiet time.
As an only child, you learn to appreciate the quiet and stillness that comes with being alone. You learn to fill up your time with doing the activities that you want to do because you don’t have anyone else jockeying for power or control. It would be interesting to take a step back and look at how this has truly influenced my life and how I treat others.
I know it has impacted my relationship with Rhondi. She often thinks that I don’t want to spend time with her and this is not the case. I’m very used to doing my own thing a lot of the time because that was what I did throughout the majority of my life before we met. I need to examine this more, though, because maybe I am missing out on a lot of good things.
*****
The Rain Drops
Huddled in a corner,
The rain puddles around our feet.
Expectations loom as the sky turns even more gray
And I can see its reflection in your eyes.
We were almost perfect then
Because nothing is ever really perfect.
The rain could have danced along the bridge
Of your nose differently
or I could have laughed more at your jokes.
Maybe I did.
I don’t remember.
But I remember the clouds and the rain and the drops
That rolled slowly towards your chin.
Tears, maybe?
Tears of Joy?
Scattered
And beginning.
And then again.
*****
See you soon.
Hi there. The kids were in music. 35 minutes of peace and preparation.
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