First Sunday in November of 2019

That is the last of the daylight savings jokes for me.  It is pretty much like the Indian said, "Only the government would believe that you can cut a foot off the top of the blanket, sew it on the bottom and have a longer blanket!"

I hope everyone remembers to change their clocks as I KNOW there are some funny stories about changing clocks back.  I have one but I know I have shared it before.

May 17th, 2007

It is 2:35 PM and as I sit at my desk my thoughts float towards the next many days.  I have been working in Deaf Education for 38 years.  I have taught 4th grade, 5th grade, did a title 1 school year project, been in charge of the entire educational program at the North Dakota School for the Deaf and now am winding down after 30 years in the St. Paul Deaf Program.  I have to admit it is a tiny bit sad but mostly a very happy thought.  As of June 15th I will be finished teaching and coaching.  A side note is our family will also stop delivering papers after 29 years of delivering the St. Paul Pioneer Press to our neighbors.  My mind is filled with thoughts of how I should/want to fill my time after finishing my professional life.  Gail's cancer seems to be in remission BUT there is this dangerous spark of thoughts in the back of my mind.  Even though it has been 4 years since the startling diagnosis my mind is NOT settled into the thought that Gail will have a long life.  It is because of that  situation that I decided to take kind of an early retirement.  I had looked at the numbers and knew that to retire at the age of 60 would mean far less money than retiring a year or two later.  BUT the nagging thought that Gail's cancer may raise it's ugly head again has prompted me to retire now.  

As I sit at my desk I glance out the window and see the tan colored mini-van that Amanda is in leave the parking lot.  Amanda is in the back seat with her head down.  Amanda lives out of the St. Paul school district and has about a 45 minute ride each morning and evening.  As I glance I do not make contact with Amanda's eyes as the second she gets in the van for the ride home she takes out a book and buries her head in it for the next 45 minutes.  The thought crosses my mind that Amanda is one of the reasons teaching has been fun for so long.  She is cheerful, studies hard and just is a delight to have in class.  I turn back to my desk and realize that I need to stay at school for some time this afternoon.  I always like to leave my classroom kind of early on Friday to get home and start the weekend so I had better get things down this Thursday.  No special plans for the weekend but it is nice to get home early on Friday to kind of unwind.  So today I need to get those lesson plans finished for the next week and then only about 14 days more of plans until retirement.  As I write and decide how I want the end of the school year to end up for my students I find my mind wandering and wandering and as that happens the school room clock just keeps ticking away.  Finally, at 3:30, I settle down and decide I need to finish soon and get home.  About that time Mrs. Condon, the principle,  hurriedly comes into my room with tears streaming down her cheeks.  She informs me that there has been a terrible accident near Stillwater.  Amanda's van crashed into the back of a stopped school bus on a rural road and she and the driver were killed.  Mrs. Condon is beside herself as she does not know how to contact anybody in our program.  After I give her a hug I assure her I will contact our social worker, who is deaf and my collegiate who is also deaf.  I spend the next hour calling and letting my co-workers know that happened.  The next day is a dark day indeed as kids come to school and find out what happened.  The next few days are kind of a blur.  The funeral is scheduled for Thursday, May 24th.  Some of the kids want to go to the funeral and some do not.  It is almost a circus getting permission slips for everyone, arranging rides etc.  I ask the principal what I should do as do teach a sign language class to hearing kids but also feel I need to go to the funeral with the kids.  I did not know how I should take the day away from school as I would be with my students that day and therefore working as a teacher.  The principal said she really could use the sub so I should take a personal day! TERRIBLE ADVICE "FOR SURE".

The end of this story is kind of crazy.  I took the day off to be with my students at the funeral.  When I received my last paycheck I was docked a days pay because I had taken a personal day and I had none left for that year!!!  Needless to say I was not a happy person.  I tried to contact the principal but she was out of the country at that time.  Finally I was able to talk to the payroll people and they agreed that I should not have been docked a days pay for being with my kids.  About a week later I received a separate check for the days pay.

So ended my teaching career.  Not the best way to say good-bye after 38 years.

I should add that we have Terry's leftover potato salad from Friday so for breakfast I fried a hamburger and enjoyed salad and burger.  What a way to start the day!

My FP is all gone.