Oh, boy. Where to start?
I was hired by Topeka Public Schools the day of Back-to-School Night, the day before school started. We were still in the process of packing up our home in Hutchinson and moving to who-knows-where, so weekends were spent driving from Topeka to Hutch and back to Topeka every weekend. This was a 2 1/2 hour drive each way. I would leave as soon as school was out on Friday, drive home, spend the weekend packing boxes and doing laundry, then drive back to Topeka on Sunday afternoons. I was so blessed to be able to stay with Abbey, our middle child, and her husband, Alex!
I felt like I was already behind the proverbial eight ball. Because of when I was hired, there was absolutely no training period, no time to get the room ready, no opportunity to familiarize myself with the curriculum, not really a chance to settle in. I just hit the ground, running. Topeka is a technology-driven district, so the learning curve for me was very steep and I felt like I was playing catch-up for a long time.
Without saying too much about the area of our school for the safety and protection of the families, Pine Ridge Prep is in the middle of a subsidized housing development. From it's inception, the school was a brain-child that students would be able to walk to school. This location has it all! There are three buildings that each house a classroom, a separate building that houses a food and clothing bank for the community, an empowerment center that helps adult find jobs and/or get their GEDs, a health center, and a Parent-as-Teachers building, which helps families with children who are not yet old enough to come to school. It truly has almost anything a family would need.
The bottom line is the children. It doesn't matter where you live. Children still have the same basic needs: to feel safe, to be fed, and to be loved. That doesn't change no matter where you work and these precious children were no different! Honestly, I believe that it was the children that kept my sanity! They were, and have always been, my focus.
Fast forward to November. The house in Hutchinson sold, so we needed to find temporary housing in Topeka, until the end of the school year. We found a duplex in a decent area of town and then began the process of sorting through what we could take to the duplex and what had to go to storage. Downsizing from a five-bedroom/four bathroom home to a duplex was no easy task!
One day, after work, I went to the city offices to turn on the utilities and get groceries. It was to be the first night I would be staying in the duplex, and not Abbey and Alex's basement. I was literally a mile from the duplex when some idiot ran a stop sign and I hit him, totalling my beloved Jeep Wrangler. I still miss that car! Because I was experiencing chest pain and my wrist hurt, Abbey drove me to the hospital. Nothing was broken. I had a serious burn from the air bag and bruising from the seatbelt.
But life goes on and so does teaching. We were able to finish the year strong and I felt like the students and I were really a family! They became such kind and caring little people, who gave the best hugs! Eleven of them graduated from preschool, outside, on a record-breaking day of heat, in little robes and mortar boards. It was so adorable!
As I reflect, it was a year of trial and tribulation, curses and blessings, and the cutest little people in Topeka! I fully believe that God puts us where we need to be and this year was no different!
No comments:
Post a Comment