About Retirement
Being retired is a good thing. It's not that I didn't like my job. Mostly it was a good one, with lots of interesting people around.
Working in a school requires a lot of patience. Sometimes you need to have more patience with the parents than the kids. Can I say that?
I once had a student that was cute as a button and very smart.There were actually a lot of those. Anyway, this particular one brought his lunchbox every day. And, every day he brought the same things to eat which were several varieties of Little Debbie cakes. That's it. Never anything wholesome from the many different food groups.
One day the teacher and I decided to buy him a school lunch. You can imagine how we felt the next day when we received an irate note from his mother informing us that Little Debbie cakes are very nutritious, and that we had better not ever interfere with her child's lunch again. Sometimes good deeds are not appreciated.
Then there was the child who was absent on a Tuesday. We received a note from that parent too. It read, "Please excuse my child for being absent on Tuesday. I thought it was Wednesday." Hello! Wednesdays are school days too.
One parent had a license plate on her car that read, "Bite Me." And we teachers wondered where her child got his attitude from? What a revelation.
Let's don't forget the mother that was paranoid about mad cow disease. Her child was not allowed to eat chicken filet sandwiches at school. Explain that one if you can!
I could tell you many more parent stories, however, thank goodness not all parents were "unpleasant." Can I say that? I must mention that many parents were appreciative, helpful, and very pleasant to be around. Thank you for that. You and your children made teaching worthwhile.
I loved all the children I worked with but it wasn't always easy. You knew you were in for a hard year when one of your students religiously mooned the other children on the playground. Where exactly does a five-year old learn to do that?
When the principal told me she was moving me from first grade to kindergarten I was quite distraught. I'd heard stories about those kindergartners and I was scared of them. The first couple of months were usually a hard time. Kids in kindergarten cried easily and wet their pants, too.
Despite my protests the principal moved me anyway. I just knew I'd be the first one in my class to cry or have a bathroom accident. The first couple of months each year my goal was to keep them safe and put them on the right bus. You're welcome.
I was once up all night with an earache, yet went to school anyway the next morning. Sometimes dedication to your job does not pay. Wouldn't you know it; i was barely in the door when I was summoned to the principal's office for a little "come to Jesus" meeting. I heard no choirs of angels singing nor shouts of "Hallelujah!" Although not truly religious, this meeting certainly was an educational situation.I learned that grown-ups will tattle on each other. And all I did was ask a question to the wrong person. I feel the need to let principals know that Teaching Assistants are people too. I shouldn't have to say that.
I once had a principal whose mantra was, "If you're late for work you better have a good reason...not an excuse."
I usually didn't have a lot of trouble getting to work on time...except that morning I decided to make my lunch at the last minute and got a Dorito in my eye. Did you know that being blinded in one eye by a Dorito is not a good "reason" to be late for work?
Good news! When you're retired from the school system you can get by with less patience if you're so inclined. It is no longer a race to meet the dress code and get out the door. You can make your lunch any time you please and you have all day to get Doritos out of your eye. You can sit back and enjoy the memories...like that one time when the whole first grade went on a field trip and nobody threw up on the bus. Wow!
Retiring is a good thing, even if you're going to miss some aspects of the job.I continue to lift up a "Thank you" every day. I know how blessed I am. There's that "Hallelujah."