Perspective

It is certainly interesting how your perspective can change your attitude. When I was an active duty teacher, I prayed for the end of the school year. In the early years, I would feel some sadness seeing those children I had worked with for the school year get on the Yellow Limousines and pull away for a summer of fun. We had shared so much together, and they had really grown physically and emotionally during the year. Alas - I really did have several "teacher’s pets," but they were all considered to be "my kids."

My school district tried the old year around school for a couple of years. That meant I had my kids all year, but not really. We would go to school for like three and a half months, go through all the things that accompany the end of the school year - like locker clean outs - four times in a school year. We also went through all the beginning of the school year things - like the students forgetting their schedule, locker combination, and most of what they had learned before the break.

In the later years of teaching, I still prayed for the end of the year, but I usually was ready to see them off - only with no sadness. Teaching had really become a chore. Enumeration of that is a whole other thing, and will not be addressed here.

Now that I am not an active duty teacher, I find myself dreading the end of the school year. I know, I know. Parents who might read this are up in arms now! They have to find activities for the kids at home. I’m sure children all over the country will wake on the first morning of their summer break already moaning "I’m bored!"

I have a bit of dread because I have come to really like being able to go shopping without the crowds. I have become to enjoy the slower paced times at the stores when it’s mostly us old folks and young mothers. There are none of the little shopping carts that some grocery stores provide coming full speed at your shins with the driver looking behind themselves instead of ahead.

But this too shall pass. In our area, I counted only about ten weeks of summer. It will be short for some of us. When I was on the other side of the desk it was entirely too short, but for some of the children it will seem too long which will make the ten weeks way too long for their long suffering parents.

Strange how a change in perspective colors the same event.