Teacher Appreciation blog post

Well, after traveling yet again, I am at my fake home in South Carolina.

I had such a nice time, had a jewelry show, and Andrew flew in for the second wedding we had. As always, he was utterly spoiled by my parents.

But the real reason for my visit was to be a bridesmaid to a dear friend, Beth. She wore the most beautiful silk organza dotted swiss gown. She looked like a little bride on a cake-top!

(I tend to thoroughly enjoy my time at parties and weddings; therefore, I do not seem to take pictures. Just imagine how beautiful my sweet friend was...)

I have had a story to share ever since I went home to host a bridal party for Beth about 2 months ago. I wanted to write about the "teacher appreciation moment" I had when I was home; (my real home of south Louisiana, just in case you had forgotten what I deem "home".)

To preface the story, I had been thinking of the teachers that "stuck with me"; that resonated with me; that left an impression on me. I guess all this "thinking" was due to my recent hand in writing again. (No pun intended.)

I had an elementary teacher and a high school English teacher come to mind as I thought about who impressed me the most. Ms. Wendy (3rd grade) and Ms. Himel (10th-12th English) were the lucky winners in my quest to find "what teacher taught me something that actually stuck" contest. No prize; just a big "thank you" which they both received in these last few weeks!

I'll explain...

That weekend back in March for Beth's bridal party, we (of course) had a jewelry show at Sugar Boutique. Young E.D.White girls often shop at Sugar, and I got to talking with one girl about how I loved Ms. Himel's class. I went on to ask her if she had the pleasure of having Ms. Himel as a teacher; she said yes! Come to find out, that weekend was "The Art Walk", and Ms. Himel was just around the corner!

I walked over, and I got to say "thank you!" It was such a treat to see her, and I told her how grateful I was to anyone who encouraged me, especially in writing. I didn't stay long, but telling her "thank you" was enough.

I struggled in her 10th grade English class; lots of literature that I didn't understand. And I don't know what happened in my junior year, but I think I was a late bloomer. I finally "got it." Her tests were hard, but I knew I could tackle them. They were like a cross-word puzzle; if you sit there long enough, think hard enough, you'd get it. And I did. Most of the time when I turned in those English tests junior and senior year, I knew I made 100%. (I am not gloating because I can promise you that these occasions throughout my academic career were few and far between.)

I remember getting our graded tests back one afternoon, and the guy who sat beside me (who will remain name-less) said to me, "Wow, I didn't know you were smart." I remember that like it was yesterday.

I started to smile and say, "Well, you know, I've struggled here and there, but..."

And then I realized what a back-handed compliment that was, so I recall saying something to the affect of, "That's right jack-ass, I am smart."

After I started believing my own words,  I won 1st place awards in the academic fair my senior year for my Anglo-Saxton riddles and my soliloquy.

Boo ya.

After seeing Ms. Himel, I was so excited. I told my mom about seeing her, and what I had been thinking: Ms. Wendy was also the teacher who won the "you left an impression on me" contest. I remember she encouraged us to write, write, write. We had journal time, and I loved it. My mom even remembers me talking about how I loved everything about that class.

While in Ms. Wendy's 3rd grade class, I remember saying that I wanted to be a writer. I also wanted to be a song writer, but I don't think any of us should take any of this too seriously because I also wanted to be a check out girl at Wal-Mart...

When I got home from Thibodaux after seeing Ms. Himel, I said, "I might look up Ms. Wendy on facebook." And so I did.

I found her right away; I sent her a facebook message. (What a blessing facebook is, by the way!)

We had lovely correspondence, and I was able to tell her "thank you." She said that my words made her day.

After talking with my two favorite teachers, I rummaged through my old school work. I barely kept anything since I love to throw away. I especially loved to purge school work, as I hated school.

I found a few pieces of my "early work" you may enjoy.

Even a 3rd grader knows to lower taxes to boost the economy.  

I am so very glad that I kept some of my writing. It must have meant something to me if I kept school work. 

I am also very glad to have reconnected with my teachers that have influenced me so. Even though I'm not a teacher, maybe someone remembers something I said years ago that influenced them. Or maybe they remember things that I did to affect them in some way. I hope so. 

People are very impressionable. I know from experience.