A Fellow Traveller

What a week for change! I'm still a part of one school community, yet am being transplanted into a new one for half the day. I'm a stable plant with deep roots within one school and a wobbly fresh sapling in the other. Earlier in September, I felt myself ready for learning. Now that I'm uprooted from one situation and transplanted into another, I'm amazed to see how I'm surviving. Physically I'm exhausted and depleted, needing my bed extra early in order to feel rested in the mornings. Emotionally I'm overwhelmed by so much change yet ready to embrace the new. Mentally I'm thinking of too many things all at once, yet finding the ability to focus as I make lists. I'm asking myself what is really important for the moment, letting myself release other things for later. Spiritually I'm discovering no change, as God loves me and continues to walk with me. My new surroundings and relationships are simply new ground to practise old truth.

Saturday night the sky was clear and the air was cool. I enjoyed my first, and probably last, bonfire of the summer. Being out in a remote corner of Wainfleet, far removed from city lights, allowed for an amazing clarity to view the lights of the night. As the sky darkened, the intensity of the sky lights brightened until they were a dazzling display of beauty. What an awesome experience; to put your head back and disappear into the sky. I felt so small. My anxieties and worries disappeared as my thoughts went to the creator of the universe. I felt enveloped in the beauty of the moment and loved as a part of that creation. As I prepare this week to step into another Kindergarten in another city, full of unknowns, I know that while some things change, others will never change. The things that truly count will last forever. Sometimes, like the stars, what truly counts cannot be counted.

Getting ready for school this summer involved painting most of the bulletin boards in my classroom. I hope that I won't have to worry about preping them again. I'm told the colours will stay fresh year after year. By using primer first, I discovered that the paint adhered better. I only needed one coat of colour. In preparing for learning, I usually focus on what I'll be teaching. This summer I realized anew how much of a learner I need to be. If I am going to truly learn lessons that stick, I need to be primed for learning as well. In being thrown into a whole new area of Library, I have to be willing to ask for help. I must bring myself down to the Kindergarten level of learning. I also must prime in my character and my attitudes. Emotionally, I need to be honest with my feelings and speak truthfully yet without complaint or resentment. Intellectually, I need to be open to new ideas and ways of doing things, even if I've done it successfully for years. Physically,