Waltzing Down Memory Lane

I've been blessed to have remained friends with many of the wonderful teachers and staff my children had at their grade school. We live in an old, old farm house. Our property is right beside the elementary school. My kiddos walked to school everyday, from K through sixth grade. Things were so very different then. We had a school dog, two actually, first Poco, then Charlie. Once Rae-rae's cat followed her to school and climbed into her desk for a nap. I took a picture. Parents came and went as they chose. No one signed in. Everyone knew everyone. I went to school with my kids. I volunteered, then went to work when the twins were in third grade, in their classroom of all things. It was a small and loving environment. That's probably why I love teaching in a small school. That's why I'm heartbroken at four of our local school's being closed. Sad that my sweet grandboy can only go to elementary through fourth grade, with no field trips and no sports.

The teachers I worked with in third grade are such special friends of mine. They are retired now, but come to my classroom throughout the year to give special learning opportunities to my lucky students. Apparently, the retired teachers meet for lunch most months and though I don't think I'm ever going to get to retire, they invited me, since it was summer.

At the end of lunch, they were trying to decide where to meet next and I invited them my house. You see I used to have them to lunch on their first day of school before students returned, so it felt like ol' home week.

So, we had a big feast of garden goodies like fried green tomatoes, pesto, sourdough bread salad and other tasty treats. The food was yummy, but the sweetest part was a little time to waltz down memory lane. Though it wasn't long ago, it was a very different time and one we all recall fondly. Much laughter and sharing rang around my kitchen table. It was such a refreshing and enjoyable way to spend a summer afternoon.