Today was my first day to teach without my new (and dear) friend Miss M.
She was hired this year to teach 3rd grade, and her classroom was right next to mine. We became friends quickly, being the only new teachers on our team, and in a way she has been a lifeline for me the past couple of weeks. We had taken up planning together (since we were a few of the only crazies in the building who stayed up at the school working til 7pm), and we shared each other's burdens and frustrations.
Have you heard of the research that was done on the endurance of mice in water? (This will come full circle, I promise). Basically it went something like this: A mouse was placed in a water tank alone and swam for, let's say, 1 minute before it drowned (I don't remember the exact numbers, and google was not giving me anything useful). But, when two mice were placed in a water tank together, they swam for something crazy like a few hours before they tired out. Whatever the numbers were, I remember it was an incredible difference. Well, in a way, Miss M and I were like those mice - trying to keep our heads above water, fueled by the fact that another person was fighting alongside us.
I don't think a soul on earth could have predicted that this Wednesday morning would be a breaking point. Teaching in an environment such as ours causes one to become so emotionally worn that I'm convinced it could honestly happen to anyone of us at any given moment. Our hectic days are characterized by unpredictability…
I'm not sure I need to go into all the details that went into the difficult decision that was made yesterday, which resulted in my friend parting ways with our school …sigh… but I will truly miss her presence. Handing off her classroom keys to another person this morning was a heartbreaking moment for me :( She quite possibly has one of the kindest hearts of anyone I know (not exaggerating). I trust that the Lord has great things in store for her! That's what I keep feeling in my soul - that He has plans for her that are far better than anything we could dream up!
As the two of us were sitting at a local pub last night, enjoying our over-priced framboise beers, decompressing the crazy emotional day that had just come to pass; for an instant I was jealous of her haha…because I knew she would get to sleep-in this morning and not go spend her entire day with kids who don't appreciate her!!
So, Miss M, depending on how you view it, though you are now jobless and in the process of relocating your life (yet again), things may actually be looking up for you in comparison to those you are leaving behind! ;)
Please know how thankful I am that you were my buddy who braved the first two weeks of school alongside me. I miss you already, but am praying for your bright future!
Here's to taking the treasure and leaving the trash, sister!
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