At times, it can be a little bit uncomfortable going back to one's past. One's teachers, especially, might be there - you know, the people who may remember your grades, or your behavior, or your 'antics'. It has been a really really long time since I even had 'antics', but still..they might just conceivably remember them.
At one reunion, I knew in advance that a particularly long-suffering teacher would be there. I felt twitchy even though it had been a really really long time, because I sensed that no teacher would/should/could ever forget. I have been a teacher myself, and have I forgotten the dread behaviors some of my (beastly) students orchestrated? (I ask you.)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ochinko/6313604503/
So I was nervous, and wondered what I could possibly say when we came face-to-face. I tried several different statements in just the right sort of tone; but in the end what came blurting out was something like: "Hello, it is so nice to see you and I apologize for EVERYTHING I EVER DID!!"The teacher laughed graciously and said (something like): "There's nothing to forgive.." and I saw that she meant it.
These people we will drive long distances to see, shared large and small moments together as a class. We began high school with the death of Winston Churchill, and ended it at Woodstock. LBJ's Great Society was ushered in, and JFK's space program blasted off on Apollo 11. We shared:
- The Beatles
- The Rolling Stones
- Simon and Garfunkel
- The Beach Boys
- Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon
- The VietNam War
- The Civil Rights movement
- The deaths of JFK, Martin Luther King, Jr, and Bobby Kennedy
- My Fair Lady, Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music
- Burnt draft cards and Moratoriums
- Burning ROTC buildings and peace marches
With that litany, it's a wonder we ever made it! But instead of regrets, I hope we can all just give and receive the attitude of that long-suffering teacher...:
"There's nothing to forgive.."
See you along the way!
the SconeLady
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bichxa/3241840431/
photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ochinko/6313604503/">Ochinko</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc</a>
photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bichxa/3241840431/">bichxa</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/">cc</a>
Excellent point.
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