Passing the torch

I think the girl who gave this to me in the 6th grade is now going into the 10th; it was hard for me to keep track once they left my school. Of all the things I was given over the years, this is the one I will keep. I never thought much about what it said until recently.

Today, I got a message from a former student from around 1990; He is retiring from the army and going to become a teacher. Here is part of our conversation:

""You are part of the reason I want to teach you know. You impacted my entire life! Years and years from that desk in front of the room. If I am blessed to grow old, my success will have your DNA. Who wouldnt want that job?"

Man, I loved this "kid" back in the day. I clearly remember him front and center in my English class, though I don't recall what year. Jervie was contemplative back then, and I'm sure he still is. He always had a serious look on his face, and really thought before he spoke....and what usually came out was profound. Now, he wants to teach. More power to him; he spent 23 years in the army, so he can handle whatever education throws at him. He wants to "make a difference." God bless him.

This is Kakeshia, another Ruffin alum.  She says I influenced her to be a teacher (not on purpose!).  She is a Gifted and Talented teacher in the Atlanta area and has been a Teacher of the Year.  She and her hubby, also a Ruffin alum, have adopted a brother and sister.  I will always remember Kakeshia's big smile and gorgeous, big eyes.

This inset picture is of me and Dr. Wanda Boatwright, yet another Ruffin alum who says she became a teacher because of me, at least in part.  Wanda has also been a Teacher of the Year in the Atlanta area.  (The guy in the big picture is yet another story.)  

Ruffin High was a Title One, high poverty school.  In spite of that, it has many success stories.  These are just the ones I know of who went/will go into teaching.  For more of good ol' Ruffin High, go here:  here

Retirement Benefit #1: Rid of nasty, jealous people

We have no control over with whom we work unless we change jobs.  As I was cooking Priscilla's meal this morning, the first benefit of retirement hit me:  choosing with whom I spend time.  No longer do I have to tolerate nasty, jealous, selfish people.

In the last two years, I have come to the conclusion that some people are just naturally nasty, jealous, MISERABLE people........and if we looked at their lives, we would see they have been that way either their entire lives, or pretty darn close.  There are two women at work who, in their "infinite wisdom,"  decided nearly two years ago that I was not "pulling my weight" in the work department.  As though they, with their cushy positions, had any room to talk--or as though they even "knew" what I did.  Anyway, one has her nose so far up the other's butt that she can't see straight.  The other one dictates what this one's relationships will be.  It's really comical in a way, but then again, it is pitiful.  Yes, I pity them because both are clearly miserable people walking around with a perpetual scowl.

The funny thing is:  my being gone next year will not heal their bitterness and anger, for that is the core of whom they are.  They.will.pick.the.next.person.to.be.jealous.of.

However, benefit #1 of retirement is choosing whom I will let breathe my air.

God Rights Wrongs

I have been blessed beyond measure with a retirement party and then today, more gifts.  It's.not.about.the.gifts.  It IS about how they make me feel.

For most of my career, I have been abused and unappreciated, as most teachers are.  My goal is to blog about my experiences over the next year---and get it out of my system so I can truly close this chapter of my life.

I told one of the "girls" (Heck, anyone younger than I is a girl, but the two teachers who organized my party are in their 20s.) that I would expect 3-4 people.  I was blown away to see it was standing room only with 30 desks taken as well as 4 or 5 chairs, too.  Granted, some people came for the food, but many gave food and monetary donations towards the gift cards.  I was in awe.  

But......I am reminded that God rights wrongs.  He takes injustices and eventually turns them around, if one has faith.  I wholeheartedly believe that.

Today, I received more gifts.  This gift card came from a classified lady, meaning she is a support staff person who doesn't make that much.  I feel this was a sacrifice.  She said she will always remember me for my perseverance and toughness.  Yes, one does not survive 21 years in middle school at 4 feet 11 if she is a wimp.  I have already been to the Hilton Head website and see a facial in my future.  ON.THE.DAY.I.CHOOSE.WHENEVER.I.CHOOSE

This bag below was from a lady who had already contributed to my party.  If you can see the mug behind the Russell Stover candy (all gone!  My philosophy is to eat it in one day; then, I can start fresh with my eating tomorrow!), it says on the inside rim, "I can do all things through Christ."  That is my mantra and has been throughout my career.  She also included an adult scripture coloring book, which I will be doing!  Of course, she added some cat treats for me, too, such as a much-needed spoon rest.

Then, I was gifted with this bag of coffee from a local, on-island cafe.  It's pecan flavored.  I can't wait to try it alone and again, mixed with my Starbucks Verona for a chocolate-pecan flavor.  It will be nice to drink coffee whenever I want and pee when I want!  Sorry, but that is NOT a given for teachers, folks!

Finally, my second boss and her husband/pet children gave me this:

It resembles my Snowflake, except she has a blue eye and a green one.

So, I give God all the glory in making this retirement something I will never forget.  He began to turn things around three years ago.  What he has shown me through this is two things:

1.  More people liked me than I thought.
2.  He is faithful.  I am going out with a feeling of being appreciated for the first time in my life.

Book 1, Chapter 29 Closes

Some people are big party people and would celebrate a retirement with a huge blow-out in a fancy restaurant or bar.  I'm not a big party person.  Two of the young teachers at my school decided to throw me a small retirement party after school yesterday, and that suited me just fine.  I have been in the same school for 13 years.  Last week, one lady called me a "staple."  I think that will live with me as long as I have my good mind.  A staple is something you always keep in your kitchen, like flour or sugar.  I am/was the longest consecutive teaching staff member in that school, so I suppose I am/was a staple.  Here are some pictures of my party.  I don't scrapbook, so my memories' footprints will be here and in my Facebook album.  

Someone (LeAnna) stalked my Facebook to get the above collage of pictures, but then she went to the trouble of printing them like real pictures.  How does one even do that?  I have no clue.

This card below is from the Morgan family.  I had the pleasure of teaching 6 of their 8 children.  This family is the DREAM family any teacher DREAMS of.  Honestly, I can not say enough about how they have reared their children.  While no child is perfect, they come darn close....and they are smart to boot!

This is a bouquet they gave me.  Just gorgeous

Two of my colleagues who retired in the last 5 or so years brought me these mums.  I was so happy to see Sherri and Deb again!

These are two gift cards they gave me.  I think this was when I cried.  I really didn't expect more than 4 or 5 people to show up, but there were over 30.  The room was packed; all the desks were taken, the chairs, and a few were standing.

One sweet colleague and her son gave me this Starbucks card.

My BFF came and gave me a Walmart card and said I could go any day, any time of day I want.  No more answering to a clock!

This cute sign was part of the decorations.  It's framed so I can keep it as a memento from the party.

Finally, some videos of the party.

The first is what I saw when I came in.

The food video

More video of the people who came

One of my students from 4 years ago came back.  Her mom is the School Resource Officer at my school.  Maggie was in my GT 6th grade ELA class at the end of the day that year.  She is not only beautiful, but smart as a whip, as the saying goes.

If you made it this far through my retirement party memories, I thank you.  Yesterday was the last day I have with students, and it ended with a bang.  I brought them all candy bar brownies and had a raffle for items from my classroom and home; stuffed animals and sketch books were the big attractions.  Everything I allotted for the raffle was given out, and the recipients were happy, so mission accomplished!

Next Wednesday, May 31, chapter 29 closes on Book 1 of My Life.   Book 2 awaits.

In the Rearview Mirror

Four weeks from today I will turn in my keys for the last time and my badge.  I am 100% certain this is the right thing for me and my parents, but I am sure I will be emotional as I relinquish all I have known for 29 years.  I know there is a time and season for everything, and I know mine is about up.

Right after I signed my first contract, I traded my perfectly fine 1980 Clemson orange Mustang for a 1988 Nissan Sentra.  And.....I signed a lease on a cute craftsman style house across from Walterboro High's football stadium.  All this before I ever got my first paycheck.  When I did get it, my heart dropped; my take home was $464.  One check didn't cover my car payment and rent.  Since Mother didn't want me moving home, she gave me $150 a month to be able to stay on my own. 

As I was going through things, I found some relics.  Teachers are notorious pack rats.  This book of essay topics has travelled with me for 29 years.  There are thousands of topics covering close to 100 subjects, but I think it is time to let it go.

It traveled with me to 5 schools and 17 classrooms:

    Ruffin High:  8 years and 2 rooms
    Colleton Middle:  4 years and 1 room
    Colleton Prep:  1 year and 1 room
    Whale Branch Middle:  3 years and 3 rooms
    Robert Smalls:  13 years and 7 rooms (more on THAT in another post)

As I was going through things,I came across these notes from 10 years ago.  I remember because I had these students in 2006-2007 right before I knew I had cancer.  I remember each of these student's faces.

I am sure as I move forward, more memories will bubble to the surface, but these students were some of the best I have had.  We had single gender classes that year with one girls' class, one boys' class, one coed regular, and one GT coed.  That was the time I realized I much preferred teaching boys.  Girls are too drama-filled.  And, the GT class was da bomb.  I remember writing them a letter where I highlighted each one of them and what I would remember them for.  At least one is already married. What I love about Facebook is being able to keep up with them.  

Twenty-nine years was just a minute ago.

God's Timing

Once again, God's timing is impeccable, and this is one of those times I am totally floored that he cares that much about me to speak to me through my guardian angel.  (My guardian angel shall remain nameless, but I'll give one  hint:    He is a student from my first year teaching in 1988.)

The devil has been messing with my mind today.  He tends to do that when I am on the verge of victory in some area.  I decided this afternoon to message said G.A. and ask him and his wife to pray for me.  His response blew me away:  He said, "wow.  5 minutes ago I got a 'you need to call Ms. Williams' as clearly as if you were sitting here next to me....I think we need to talk."

So, talk we did!  I told him what was going on, and he told me just what I needed to hear.  AND.it.came.from.God.through.his.mouth.to.my.ear.  There is NO other explanation of why I would message him right after he had that "feeling/message."  Anyway, the bottom line of the message was for me not to worry, so I won't!.

God's timing is impeccable, but we have to be willing to listen for his voice.

God *is* in the details

Some people would say that what I'm about to write about is nothing more than "luck."  I don't subscribe to that; I give credit where credit is due:  GOD.

HERE      I wrote about the saga of the $1788 job to repair a coil on my AC unit.  Now, for the update:

I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, as a friend recommended.  It took a week because the owner was out of the country, but I did hear from him.  He sent a second repairman, one of his best, for a second opinion.  Low and behold---The first guy was WRONG, so he had them order the wrong part!  For the five year-old unit, the compressor had blown for the second time.  This time they theorize it was due to my fins being bent after my brother pressure washed my house two years ago.  (Lesson learned:  Do it MYSELF, and I shall!).  So, because I've been so "patient," the owner is knocking the normal $1400 one man job to $900.  Whether $1400 is actually what it normally costs, I don't know and don't care.  The bottom line is I am getting it for half the original quote, AND I don't have to dip into savings to do it!  

While I was on the phone, the owner asked me if I would notify the BBB that the situation was resolved.  Not so fast...I was nice, but I told him I would not until the issue is truly resolved.  I will, however, let them know that pending the completion of the job, I am satisfied it is progressing in that direction.  

So, thank you Beverly, for suggesting I contact the BBB.   As I did so, I knew God would take care of things, and He did!

Overwhelmed

I was/am a single parent.  I left my ex in December of 1998 after fleeing the house to a neighbor's and calling the police.  I didn't realize he had left red marks on my neck until the cops came that night.  They carted him off to jail, and I mobilized, calling my dad, who in turn called my brother and nephew and his wife.  We packed the house until 2am if I recall.  The next morning I appeared at the jail to see if they could keep him away from the house since he was getting out on a PR bond.  They gave us until noon; we pulled out the last load a few minutes before that, and my son and I moved in with my parents and rented a storage unit for virtually everything else.  The judge had said, "Don't take anything that belongs to him."  So, it was.  I did leave him some dishes and the living room furniture.  Oh, and when he got to the house, he called me and asked, "Where's my f---ing money?  You took my f--ing money!)  (He did side jobs he never told me about to fuel his beer and tobacoo.)  Yes, my niece-in-law found $200  as we were packing.

We lived with my parents for nearly 3 years.  During that time, I took on my first part-time job as a Partylite candle consultant, going into homes for home parties.  When I worked it, I did very well, but my introversion held me back.  Over the years, I began teaching after school, co-ordinating after school with my BFF, teaching summer school, and teaching extended learning when we were a year-round school system.  If it meant extra money, I did it.  See, my ex never paid child support save one six month period about 6 or 7 years ago when his wages were garnished.  I found out years ago that since I was not on welfare, the state would not go after him.  (Thanks, cheap Governor Mark Sanford, for not adding SC to the National Child Support Network.)

I was and am not afraid of work, though I prefer using my mind to do it.  Over the years my parents helped us some, but primarily it was left to me.  Many times I felt overwhelmed, drowning even.  There were many times when I used the credit cards to pay bills and repair bills.   Through it all, I had one whom I could always count on to pull me through:  God.  He always provided our needs.  

Today I felt overwhelmed with a repair bill whereby I know the company has inflated its labor charges to cover the part on my AC unit being under warranty.  $1788 for 4 hours of labor?  Really?  When I told the repairman that, all he could do was flash a sly smile and shrug; he doesn't make the charges.

So, I will get through this just as I have every other challenge that comes with being a single parent of a household.  I look at our two lives--mine and my ex's.  I survived cancer even after the tumor perforated the colon.  I am looking at retirement in 51 days, and I have 3 part-time jobs to supplement that (online mentoring, tutoring--which are separate jobs--and petsitting for one couple)   He, on the other hand, has prostate cancer, was homeless nearly two years ago (and who knows how many other times?), is on disability due to his back, and is an alcoholic.  He has been in pain since before I knew him (his back).  What do I have that he doesn't?  Jesus.  Jesus has been with me every step of the way.  Because of that, I may be downtrodden, but I am not defeated.

Pseudo Christianity Will Lead to "I Never Knew You"

Matthew 7:21-23English Standard Version (ESV)

I Never Knew You

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

As Jesus says here, there are many who *think* they are going to heaven---they may go to church or think of themselves as *godly* people; they may bow their heads and say their daily prayer---but truly, their actions and speech, particularly their speech, contradict their assertions.  They are nasty people who have nothing even remotely resembling Jesus in them.   This is only a few verses of what the Bible says about the tongue:

Matthew 12:36-37 - But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.   (Read More...)

James 1:26 - If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion [is] vain.

James 3:6 - And the tongue [is] a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

Finally, "out of the mouth, the heart speaks."  Yes, what is in our hearts is what comes forth from our mouths.  When virtually everything that springs forth is degrading others, how can there be any Christ in the person? Ecclesiastes 10:13 tells us that "Pride is the beginning of sin..."  Pride is a hideous sin for it will separate the person from God forever.  Picture someone who is unable to admit any wrongdoing or apologize because of his/her pride.  That is a miserable person (at the core) who aims to make everyone else miserable as well.  What is that person's fate?

Some are given a pass

There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven-- 2A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. 3A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up. (Ecclesiastes)

When given a cancer diagnosis, why are some people spared and others die? For that matter, any sickness.Here  http://onedayatatime-ginger.blogspot.com/2008/07/handling-what-we-are-given.html I wrote about getting my cancer diagnosis and the morning of the surgery *knowing* I would be fine.  My dad is in the middle of immunotherapy for cancer in a lymph node.  We are optimistic, but of course, we won't know the outcome until after his treatments and he has another pet scan.  

A childhood friend I'm friends with on FB reported a few months ago that her father-in-love has cancer.  I have been praying for him.  Sadly, yesterday she reported there is nothing more that can be done, and hospice has been called in.  

Two years ago my mother was sent home under hospice to die from congestive heart failure.  To shorten the story, by December of 2015 she had decided to get up from that hospital bed, and with the help of two physical therapists, she is now walking with a walker and getting her hair done each Friday.  My parents go where they want around town, as long as someone drives them.

Two weeks ago a friend was hospitalized with pneumonia and pleurisy.  He nearly died, but God spared him, and he is now home with a long road of recovery. 

Why?  Why did I and my mother get a pass, and seemingly my father and my friend, but my other friend's father-in-law didn't?  We have lived  in a fallen world since the event in the garden.  Yes, God is the great healer and could heal anyone at any time, but His ways are not our ways.  There are some things we will never understand on this earth.  Could it be as simple as "It's not our time"?  Yes, it could.  The moral is take every day as though it were your last and appreciate it for what it is.  None of us know how much time we have; Dad is 89, mother is 84, I was 44 when diagnosed, my friend is 59, and my friend's father-in-law is around 70.  Some of us get a pass, but others don't.  

There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest.