Something Long Forgotten

Last week I lost my friend and colleague.  I heard that she was ready to move on and that she notified those close to her she made the decision.  Bonnie loved and appreciated food.  Sometimes too much, but her decision to not eat anymore signaled her final decision.
Last week I found two photos and posted them on social media.  One was from a river raft trip a bunch of us made back in 1979 on the American River in Northern California.  It was immediately after we completed the second leg of the trip.  There we are standing next to our guide against the big raft that took us through those rapids.  We are exhausted, but feeling pure joy.  Bonnie has the biggest grin of anyone.

The second picture is from the early 1980s.  The school where we taught was having a "good friends" photo contest.  Students were invited to submit photos with their best friends.  As I recall, one of the yearbook photographers suggested that teachers enter too.  He took our picture for the occasion.  The photo shows me with Bonnie, (lower left) John, and Marsha.  We have one arm around our colleague and the other holding another's hand.

In the days following Bonnie's passing, that post "blew up." I received more than 100 responses, mostly from former students of mine or the other teachers pictured.  Trust me when I tell you that there is nothing so gratifying to a teacher than to hear from students after they become adults.  To see what they have done with their lives and where they are is beyond fascinating.  It's the way we learn that many of the seeds planted years ago have taken root.
Last week I heard from former students who are now educators too.  That's a special example.  Sometimes they are the last people you would think who would be teachers, sometimes it's the ones you hoped would be.  On rare occasions, these people take time in their comments to reference their former teenage selves.  They sometimes apologize for something long forgotten.  Sometimes, they repeat something from a conversion decades old.  I'm humbled.  I'm honored.  But most of all, I'm content.