Day 7- "Life's Work..."

I was one of the few who yesterday advocated for going to school in cold temps as long as we had heat, because our kids were better off there since they would get two meals, and be safe and warm.  Well...we went.  And they got two meals, one served rapidly.  Why?  Because we were one of four schools in the county with no heat.  I can live with that error, even if they knew before our start time.  What is not ok is that our kids were there until 12:15 and we weren't told until 11:45 that is when it would happen.  IT. WAS. COLD.  Our students and teachers persevered and smiled and kept the best attitudes they could.  I watched a teacher walking a class down the hall ask if we had a coat that would fit one of her students, and that student had a coat before she got to her destination.  I question why it took that many hours- that wasn't fair to students or teachers, and falls on central office.  The kids were safe, and we did our best...not quite as planned but people in the building were part of the solution, not part of the problem. Behind the scenes people scurried to move materials and alter lessons so that students could keep going; everyone engaged in "other duties as assigned.  People kept a sense of humor.   As a teacher, this is our life's work...we do it all for our kids, on good days and hard days, planned and unplanned, whatever it takes.  

I have my other life's work though...my family.  Today, cold temps below zero or not, was a chemo day for my stepson.  Had there been no school that is where I would have gone.  His life literally depended on him going out in this weather, and we are grateful he has a hospital that is so phenomenal for his treatment.  

Then, there is my son- he came down in purple today, rare as a Redskins fan, a lone Ravens jersey I got on clearance a while back, and explained to me that his friend had asked them to wear purple today because his cousin had died, and it was in her honor.  I shortly found out that she was an Urbana student with a brother at UHS.  You can read more about her here:  http://www.keeneybasford.com/sitemaker/sites/KEENEY1/obit.cgi?page=services&user_id=1209643.


I realize more than ever how lucky we were today that our biggest problem was no heat and limited electricity- every one of our students made it home safely, and Liz's family would give anything for her to come home tonight.  My stepson got treatment he needed, and Liz's family would give anything to have had that opportunity to find something to save her life.  My life's work is far from over, and changing every day.  I am just so very proud to be a part of the team I am part of at work, and a part of this family we have grown.  We can't be 100% all of the time, but we can give 100% to what we are working with.  The compassion I saw today all around is humbling to say the least.

“You can't help respecting anybody who can spell TUESDAY, even if he doesn't spell it right; but spelling isn't everything. There are days when spelling Tuesday simply doesn't count.” - Winnie the Pooh