Remembering...

So sorry I didn't post last night. You would think I had all kinds of free time on my hands since we had a snow day. However, the day was filled with children, snow gear, laundry, unpacking, etc. Then last night when I settled down to write this, I couldn't find my pictures (on the computer). Before I knew it, I was sitting there with the computer on my lap, warm as can be, sound asleep.

We have another "snow" day today. I won't even voice every thought I am having about the complaints the district has received due to this decision. I have some strong opinions though and will just summarize by saying that I am thankful to work for a district that does put its students first. While much of the roads appear clear, not all of our students live IN town. Driveways, sidewalks, and parts of the road are still NOT clear. I was out today, and even my school parking lot is still not clear. We really don't get snow often so it is not financially sound for the district or even our city to have major equipment to deal with this. I know our summers get shorter when we have snow days, but the safety of our students and teachers comes first! There. My rant for the day.

Speaking of snow days, it was this day last year that a tragedy occurred. We were having our in-service...the first day returning after our Christmas vacation. That morning I went to a kindergarten meeting at another school. Later in the day we were in our own schools. I was in the hallway when I heard someone talking about the weather and asking if we had heard about the accident. While the ground was not covered, it was cold and a little icy that day. Apparently a teacher on his way to the in-service was in a car accident when his car slid on the ice; he died that morning. When I heard the teacher's name, it sounded familiar but I really don't know many of the high school teachers in our area. When I heard a description of his family though...a kindergarten teacher at another school who was taking a year off to stay with their daughter and was pregnant with their second child...somehow the pieces came together. My heart sank. I can remember well the hollow feeling left in my stomach.

I didn't know Bonnie well. Well, at least not in person. We were blogger friends. Somehow she had found my blog which in turn helped me find her blog. We had a lot in common: we were both moms and kindergarten teachers and bloggers. In fact, at one kindergarten meeting the year before, she had come up and introduced herself. Otherwise, we only knew each other through blog comments. But now her life was very different. I still cry thinking about it. There are many things in life I don't understand, and this will always be one of them.

Over the last year, I have gotten to know Bonnie more. She is an amazing person. She was a devoted wife and loves her children with all she has. She has a giving heart; I don't think she could be mean if she tried. She is so much of what I am not. I am constantly amazed at her patience, her encouragement, and her complete faith in God despite the struggles she has had to face this past year (including delivering their son without her husband by her side). I have done things thinking I was helping her only to find myself leaving feeling more encouraged and loved than when I came.

My one regret is that I did not go to the funeral. At the time, we had only met once in person. I was afraid that it would be odd for me to just show up. I also knew it would be really crowded. Mr. Culp was a well loved and respected high school teacher with many students who were mourning his loss too. Our faculty was actually asked to help substitute if needed at the school where Bonnie's sister teaches. In the end, I chose not to go, and I am sorry for that now. At the time, all I knew to do was pray. And I did a lot of that. A lot of people have. I really think and believe Bonnie has felt those prayers over the year. She has a strength that comes from Him. Thank you to all who have prayed for that strength and peace for her this year!

When I first started this post, I didn't mean to go this in depth. I guess it has been on my heart more than I knew.


More later...
Reba