Well, it's official. As of August 1st I am retired. It's not the way I had hoped it would end or exactly when I should have been done, but the, to use a word very popular right now, pivoting that came with this year, and I mean inclusive of this school year starting last September, just kept making things more difficult. From a power outage on Friday the 13th in September, the uncertainty of my principal's return from a personal leave, my mother's stroke, my sister's death, the misinformation I was given about my Medicare enrollment, and of course, COVID 19 and working from home for 4 months. I intended to retire at the end of my contract which would have been June 30, but making a long story short, turning 65 on March 31st actually affected that date and thus I had to work one additional month.
Our interim principal was a Godsend. She not only wanted to make sure that our 5th graders who were moving on had a send-off, she did the same for the teacher that retired from our school and me.
The staff had gathered in the lobby, all masked of course and 6 feet apart, getting ready to go out to line the street to wave good-bye to the 5th grader's driving by in their parent's cars. Just before that, they handed us a bouquet of flowers, balloons, and a gift bag and had us pose for a picture and we all rushed outside. I was speechless of course, fighting back the emotions and joined them outside. That night I wrote my note to them:
You all
caught me speechless yesterday.
If I could
have spoken I would have told you that when we left SBS on March 16th
my thoughts were then that there could be someone among us that we would never
see again – a casualty of the virus. So
I tried to soak in your faces. You were
smiling but still showing worry and confusion. We had already been through a lot this year
and making the best of it. Planning for
baseball opening day was in the works.
When we all said good-bye that day, I’m sure none of you thought it
would be for so long.
I tried to
keep in touch by alternately posting daily messages of hope and some really
bad, groan-worthy jokes and I hope that helped a little. I hope you’ll “store” that as a good memory
of these past few months. I will “store”
it along with all the memories of the past 17 years I’ve been at SBS.
Speaking of
memories, some of you know that I’ve always said that I was going to write a
book about all the weird, wonderful, and sometimes frustrating things that went
on here. I don’t think that will come to
actual fruition but I do have some stories written down and even a title - “Everyone
Wants to be Goldilocks” because you know that Goldilocks wanted everything to
be just right. And while there’s a bit
of sarcasm in that title, I hope you know that it was always my goal to make
things just right for you all. I’m proud
of the fact that I believe my successes at that far outweigh my failures.
I’ve already
begun to miss all the daily interactions with you. Not the work-related duties, but the little
and sometimes long conversations. The
stories of your families and your classrooms. Hearing about your joys and
sharing in your sorrows. Listening to
your frustrations and hopefully knowing when you needed someone just to listen
and when you were asking for advice. And
that goes both ways because you listened when I shared the good, the bad, and
the frustrating.
I wish that
I could hug you all but aside from it not being allowed right now, I would
definitely be crying and I’m no Chrissy Teigen when I cry. So it’s also a good thing that I read all
your congratulation messages alone with my box of “soft” tissues (which BTW I
always offered Frank to have in his office when bad news was coming) because
you have all been such a big part of my life, and, well, these lyrics from
Wicked say it all…………
It well may
be
That we may
never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me
say before we part
So much of
me
Is made of
what I learned from you
You’ll be
with me
Like a
handprint on my heart
And now
whatever way
Our stories
end
I know you
have rewritten mine
By being my
friend(s)
…..
Who can say
if I’ve been
Changed for
the better?
I do believe
I have been
Changed for
the better
And because
I knew you…………
I have been
changed
For good
Thank
you. Thank you for the gifts you gave
me, and more importantly, thank you for your friendship and love.
Always,
Lorraine
The teacher's union put this sign and a big bunch of balloons at our mailbox on the last day of school and HWNSNBP insisted that I keep up the sign in the backyard until it was official.
Once again the principal came through with more surprises on my last day in the office. She brought in more balloons last Thursday, flowers, a mascot, and made me the t-shirt that says "School's Out Forever" "Retired and Loving It". She bought lunch for the three of us and the custodian and the secretary made a cake. They also programmed our new school sign with the message up above.
She sent out an e-mail to the 12-month staff that was working in the district and to our school staff to come at 4 and "clap me out". Once again, I was overwhelmed. Twenty and more showed up - all masked to bid me farewell.
I can't say it wasn't hard to catch my breath as I drove away. There are a lot of good memories that I have of working there. But I knew that it was time and I am really looking forward to someday being able to go back and give the hugs that I so longed to share.
My heart is heavy that I will not be there to help as they all face the challenges of the new school year and that heaviness applies to the fear that I have for my daughter and son-in-law as they get ready to go back to their school, and my grandchildren too.
