Wednesday morning.  Over the hump day and wow, did it feel like I was having to climb over a large hump to get out of bed this morning.  And no, I don’t mean Doug : ) Not as bad as yesterday, but I was late enough that I HAD to stop and grab a couple of donuts on the way to school.  Again.  And not just any donuts, but donuts with sprinkles, one with white icing and one with chocolate.  Because one can never have enough sprinkles in their lives.  I go often enough that the manager and person waiting the counter know me.  I first met the woman behind the counter a little over a year ago.  I assumed by her name and accent that she was middle eastern and the manager told me that in her home country she had been a teacher, which of course gave us something in common.

Our conversations in the morning were short, but we usually had a few minutes to talk about some aspect of education.  She was very interested in finding a way to work within our school district but was having difficulty.  I gave her some names and information to help but nothing seemed to be happening.  Then the election happened.  And this woman, an immigrant to our country began to be harassed by customers who complained about not being able to understand her or making fun of her accent or telling her to “go home”.  I could tell it hurt her feelings, but her manager was very kind and made sure she felt safe.  I could tell when she felt stressed by the morning rush and did my best to make her feel at ease when I came in.

But this morning, there was something different.  Instead of the usual pleasantries, she had an excited smile on her face. This woman walked around the corner to stand and talk to me in front of the counter today. She explained to me that in her home country of Syria, she had taught for over 20 years, had been an administrator for three years and worked for the ministry of education for eight years.  She had taught English to hundreds of Syrian teachers and was certified as an official interpreter, and here she was, in America, working behind the counter of a fast food restaurant.  But now, she was going to have an interview, hopefully to work with ELL students and families as an interpreter and perhaps find out what she could do to teach in our school system.  You could tell that just the dream of being in education again was so important to her and I was so excited for her.  I offered to help in any way I could and would be looking forward to hearing what would happen next.

“For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to proper you and not to harm you.  Plans to give you hope and a future”

This woman was living on that hope and has been dreaming of a new start in a new country.  What a way to start my morning, right?  And the idea that this highly educated, highly qualified woman had to work in a thankless job for this long, all the while dreaming of a new opportunity in America was both sad and inspiring.  Sometimes I forget how fortunate I am.

After a long day, I finally had my plan time at the very end.  As I was decompressing, our new strings teacher knocked on my door and walked in.  This young man just started as a full time, first year teacher early last week and is commuting from Omaha until he gets into his first apartment next weekend.  As the school year began and there was no job in sight, he had decided that he would just continue teaching privately and perhaps pick up a restaurant job to make ends meet.  Then the call came and all at once he was teaching beginning strings at four different schools.  And he’s excited.  And he’s new and full of questions.

I could tell he looked a bit nervous coming into my room, but he told me about a student he had some difficulty with today and asked for advice, seeing as I’m all full of sage and wisdom.  Well, maybe not, but I do have the advantage of longevity and with that comes a lot of trail and error and from that you can learn a lot of what not to do.  So I gave him some suggestions, after which he thanked me.  Then he said he would probably pick my brain some more this year if that was okay.  After so many people have helped me over the years, paying it forward is the least I can do to help make his dream of being a teacher a reality.

Which then leads me to my students today and imagination.  From creating original lyrics for a melody to learning new games, my kids were using their imaginations.  My favorite was a beautiful little Kindergarten student, sitting in the circle playing a listening game.  As I sat beside her, she looked at me and said “Mrs. Bush!  You’re the director and we’re your show! And we can pretend that there are moms and dads sitting on the risers watching our show!  And you could be my mom and clap for the show!”  And then she played the game a little longer before she turned to me and said “Mrs. Bush!  This is best show EVER!”.  All bright eyed and excited, my hope for her and all my kids is that all of that imagination will one day lead them to dream great dreams for themselves and others.  And it reminds me that with a little work, hope and imagination, I can still keep dreaming for myself as well.