It all begins somewhere...

Everyone blogs nowadays, don't they? I figured I might as well get in the loop...I guess I should catch up with the rest of the world.

I am not sure I have too much to say. I can only hope that something here will have some wisdom, but don't hold your breath ;-)

This past August I went back to one of my old hometowns (yes--I believe that I have several...) and while I was there I almost stopped at my elementary school, but decided against it since it was the middle of the class day. But I really had wanted to say hello to my old teachers, and to let them know how they had guided me in those early years.

So, today I decided to just go to the school's website and look up my old teachers...surprisingly, none were still listed. Very sad for me. I had hoped to shoot them an email, just to let them know that even after all these years, I still remember the lessons I learned in their classes. So instead, I will write it here, and hope that someday, some way, these words will find them.

To Mr. Reid:
You were always lighthearted and funny--I remember it being great fun to watch your steer the desks around the rooms like little race cars. I remember learning to read in your class--and loving it. You instilled a love for the written word in me, and I cannot thank you enough for that.

To Mrs. Gille:
I remember you saying that you were 39, and I replied that you were the same age as my Grandmother (it wasn't until a few years ago that my Grandma admitted that she had been 39 for a few decades...), but you took it all in stride. You always pushed me to do better. I was a good student, but I felt like you knew I could be a great student, and so you never gave up giving me encouragement--pushing me to go faster on "timed tests" and pushing me to absorb all the information I could. Looking back, I feel it is because of you that I have such a drive to constantly do better--to do more than I thought I ever could.

To Mrs. Doyle:
I remember the look you gave me when I told you that my family and I had rafted the Colorado River...when you knew that my geography was all wrong and we were never near the Colorado. I may have been a little hasty on field trips--exploring out beyond the limits, and wading waist deep into the river. You scolded me, but you did so without killing my sense of adventure.

To Nurse Vicky:
I remembering spending a lot of time in your office. I was "accident prone," as they said, but you never made me feel guilty about my misfortune. A fractured collarbone, my head split open...and those were just the major trips--all before the end of 4th grade. You taught me how to keep my cool in less than desirable circumstances, and helped me be a stronger person.

I find it extremely interesting to look back, to see how others have influenced and help shape my life. I wish that I could tell these teachers personally how much they really influenced me. But I will have to settle for this little blog.

I can only hope that someday, some student will email me, letting me know how I have helped shape their life...and hopefully, I will have influenced them in a good way.