#piglet | edUconnections

Greetings soon-to-be teachers…it’s me again. Just popping in one last time to say thank you! 🤗

I couldn’t have asked for a better group of ‘Methods Year’ teacher candidates to end my teaching career with. We shared many laughs and many tears this year, didn’t we?

The laughs! Oh, I have so many joyful memories. Ready for it? Here it goes…tie the tie contest, welcome door décor, homecoming and singing “It’s SMSU,” getting to know the Thai grad students, attending MREA, a silent auction, having the best office helper ever, playing with Play Doh®, Dave Burgess Zoom visit, playing some serious Operation®, spontaneous ice cream date, random pictures because of a phone thief, retirement party, EMAE co-advisor, BeReal moments, hanging out, walking the hallways, visiting the outdoor classroom, learning a line dance, and your commencement. A year filled with laughter!

The tears! Oh yes…there were also some difficult days, weren’t there? I’m not sure if any of you follow Simon Sinek on Instagram. If you don’t, I highly recommend you check out his posts. I recently watched and listened to a short clip of him explaining how shared struggle can deepen our relationships with others. He comments and I quote, “When families go through tragedy, they get closer. When societies go through hurricanes…we support each other. It’s the same in our relationships. If you allow someone to sit and struggle with you, it actually deepens the relationship.” (Sinek, S. [@simonsinek]. 2023. Shared struggles [Highlight]. Retrieved April 24, 2023, from https://www.instagram.com/p/CrboLp-NT-x/?hl=en).

When I heard Simon talk about this, I immediately thought of all of you and the ‘hurricanes’ we experienced this past year. We certainly shared struggles together throughout the 2022 – 2023 school year, didn’t we? I believe those difficult days strengthened us as human beings and strengthened our close-knit family relationship. From Dr. Lori’s passing in November to your endless expectations throughout this methods year, and then to the bittersweet moments of my retirement; we were like Winnie the Pooh and Piglet. We sat together quietly ‘on the log,’ swinging our legs all while relying on each other to get us through the difficult days. The difficult days were a little bit easier because we knew we had someone there for us; we had each other. We came out on the other side stronger, bolder, braver, better, and self-assured because we did it, we made it through…together!

Thank you for sitting on the log with me!

As I’ve said several times this year, and I don’t say this lightly…I would be honored to have any one of you be my grandchildren’s teacher. And that says a lot about your character and about the teachers I know you will become!

Kudos to your parents! They did a phenomenal job at raising you! Thank you for allowing me to serve you and to be a part of your life! With gratitude in my heart, I wish you all the best! 🙌