Counting Down.........

As I have mentioned before, I grew up on a farm. Farm life did not allow vacations.  When I was a little girl, I hated Spring Break. Spring Break did not mean fancy trips, sleeping late, or adventures with my family. It meant Camp Granny. Now for some of you Camp Granny sounds amazingly fun. But that is because your “Granny” was probably awesome. One of the many reasons losing my parents has been so hard is because I loved the relationship my kids had with my parents. My parents loved having my boys around. They had great adventures. By the time I was 9, I only had one grandparent alive-Granny.

Granny wasn’t fun. She was not very nice. She was grumpy. She was particular.  And Granny really, really didn’t like me. I loved being outside. I loved playing outside and getting dirty. I loved talking back. I loved getting under her skin. I hated dresses and I hated bows in my hair more than the dresses she tried to get me to wear.  But because my Mom worked, Spring Break meant my siblings and I had no one to stay with while my Mom worked. So we went to Camp Granny. Granny Camp started with making a count down calendar which stayed on the refrigerator. This counted the 5 days until we were to go home on Friday afternoon. Each morning we took a day off the countdown. It usually started a fight between my sister and me as to who ripped the paper off first. Granny made attempts to do things with us. She really did try to make it somewhat entertaining, but you could tell she needed Friday afternoon to come quickly. Granny didn’t love us being around. Granny counted down the days each day until we left….and now, as a 45 year old, I remember the feeling of that. I remember the countdown calendar on the refrigerator. I remember that she was so excited to be rid of us. I remember the feeling of her not wanting us there. And more than anything I remember that feeling of rejection.

We are in the last two months of the school year. It is a packed, adventurous time. There is so much to be done between now and June 4^th. In fact there are moments that I am unsure it will all get done. But I started thinking about that countdown. I am sure, like me, you’re starting to think about those things you plan on doing this summer: vacation, books to be read, Netflix binges, rooms to paint, closets to organize, PD to attend, Pinterest ideas to create, etc.  Yet, don’t physically start  a countdown to summer. Remember little Meredith at Camp Granny knowing that she was counting down the days until she was rid of me. Our students look up to us. Many do because they’re taught to do that by their parents and others look up to us because we are stable, we are caring, and we are their world. Now imagine how that must feel to them for us counting down the days until we are no longer a part of their world.  

Lester Laminack once said, “You can crush a child’s spirit in the blink of an eye. Be thoughtful.  Be present. Be honest. Be kind. Be an adult.” Think about that before you  Count Down to Summer or count down until you're rid of these kids........ that really should be a depressing thought.