Inside job

I was sitting in the car and saw this young woman heading into work. I took a quick shot through the car window. Perfect to be working inside on such a wet day. No jobs done in the garden here today! I had an appointment for my orthotics so I picked up the few groceries that we need so I don't have to go to town tomorrow.
What a fantastic message was left on our answering machine yesterday from a student we taught when we began our careers many years ago in a small rural school! Michael had come across our names in some research he was doing and decided to call. He said that he's always wondered what happened to us. In his words on the message, " You had a big impact on my life and I just wanted to thank you." How rewarding to hear that! We called him today and had a great conversation. Michael was one of the most intelligent and nicest kids I've ever taught, an excellent writer in junior high school. He went on to become a journalist and has won provincial and national awards, but has always wanted to write books - and now he's written two! He said that one of them was about growing up on the Southside and that we're in it - not named though! I said it would be fun to try to figure out what characters we are! Can't wait to get copies of his books. 
I follow quite a few students from those days on Facebook, although I rarely log in now. G and I always say that we were so lucky to start our teaching careers in that small rural community. The kids were fantastic and I bet I remember most of them, and it was a great community too. Michael said that the passion we had for teaching and the love that we had for the kids was so obvious. We both had opportunities to teach different subjects and grades and to have different experiences that we'd never have had in a school in a town or city. I was trained as a secondary English and Social Studies teacher, but my first assignment was a grade1/2 split, and I sure learned a lot about teaching in that class! In the next 5 years at the school, I taught middle school English, PE, Home Ec, Math, and got experience as a librarian and counsellor, a great foundation for my career. 
I've always been convinced that teaching is THE most challenging and rewarding careers, and what a reward Michael's call was!  Still smiling from ear to ear!