Time for a Mini-Vacation

I started my day this morning pretty much the same way I always do; I take a couple turns at the snooze alarm, get up and make coffee, walk my dogs and then check my email. Pretty standard stuff, but this morning I received an email that got me thinking (go figure right?).

It was a message through Facebook. Carolyn Hurley, my second grade teacher in Buffalo NY, had let me know that she finally posted her picture! I couldn’t wait to log on and see it. And there she was, the same beautiful smiling face that I remember from so many (eek!) years ago. She was such an amazing teacher. As a child, you knew from day one that this woman absolutely loved what she did and all those in Ebenezer Elementary school who had the privilege of passing through her class were the better for it.

There were so many things she did to make each of us feel special and I wish that I had a clearer memory of the entire year. But I do remember receiving the award for eating the most ice cream sandwiches in class (I still love those darn things!), getting the lead in the play where I got to sing California Here I Come which was always a dream of mine (and a big deal because I was so incredibly shy back then) and probably most importantly, the smile that was ever present on her face. When I got a bit older my mother shared a story with me about my favorite teacher. It was always customary to give the teacher a gift at Christmas time. We gave Mrs. Hurley a nightgown. I think it may have been light green if I remember correctly. Mrs. Hurley then wrote a note to my mother (as I’m sure she did with all the other students), but it was one that my mother kept for years in her drawer and forever in her heart.

To set the stage, this was the early 70s in West Seneca (a suburb of Buffalo) and my mother was a single parent. Today’s society is much more forgiving than it was back then. I’ll never forget another teacher (3rd grade) who gave our class the project of drawing our family tree. It was just supposed to be the immediate family of parents, brothers and sisters. Well, you can imagine how quickly I finished the project, it was just my mother and I after all. When the teacher came over to give me some assistance (clearly I couldn’t be done so quickly) she told me that I had to include everyone. I explained that I didn’t have any brothers or sisters. She then asked why I hadn’t included my father. I told her I didn’t have one. She began asking; Did he pass away? No… Was he in the military? No… Was my mother divorced (she had a hard time even saying that word)? No… I remember her starring at me trying to figure out which scenario she hadn’t thought of and I just kind of looked back. Then it dawned on her, Was your mother ever married? No. Well that was it! The teacher looked at me as though she had finally seen the devil’s horns on my head that clearly must have been there the entire time. She marched away from me and never treated me the same way again. Thankfully she was pretty mean to everyone so she didn’t focus her attention just on me. Rumor had it that she was in a tornado at some point in her life and as a result, she hated kids. That’s what we told ourselves anyway.

Understanding the climate at the time helps to explain why Mrs. Hurley’s letter to my mother was so special. Mrs. Hurley took the time to sit down and write a thank you note to each of the parents for the Christmas gifts she received. I don’t know what she wrote in the other letters, but the letter to my mother brought her to tears each time she read it. Mrs. Hurley took the time to tell my mom that she thought she was doing an amazing job raising me, that I was a good student and a joy to have in her class (ok, I’m sure she said that about all the kids) but also she went on to say some specifics about me and my personality and how impressed she was that my mom was able to keep a full-time job (she was a Registered Nurse) and have time to raise me. My mother had little time for friends or socializing so compliments were very few and far between for my mom and the letter that Mrs. Hurley wrote meant more to my mother than she could have ever expressed at the time. Now all these years later, that letter still means the world to me. Thank you Mrs. Hurley!!

Years later when I was in my early 20s I was sitting at the corner of the bar at a Friday’s Restaurant in Buffalo, NY. I was with my boyfriend at the time and I glanced over and was shocked to see Mrs. Hurley! I looked at Jim and told him who she was and how she was my very favorite teacher ever. Still a bit shy at the time, he told me that I should go say hello. I told him that there was no way she’d remember me. It had been years and so many children had passed through her classroom, I would only embarrass her if I said hello and she didn’t remember me. He convinced me that I was totally wrong so I got up the nerve and said hi. Without missing a beat she looked at me and said Beckie! I smiled so big and said, “Close! That’s my mom.” And she said, oh my gosh, Kathie. I grew up to look just like my mother and now that I was in my early twenties, I looked very similar to what my mother looked like in her early thirties, when Mrs. Hurley knew her. I could not believe that she not only remembered me, but remembered my name and MY MOTHER’S name! You could have knocked me over with a feather.

I don’t remember if I told her the story of the letter all those years ago, and if I didn’t I apologize because I definitely should have. Thankfully, she and I have kept in touch through Christmas cards, emails and now Facebook. I’m also very proud to say that she’s on this distribution list as well.

Getting the email from Mrs. Hurley this morning brought back so many wonderful memories of second grade, my mother and my childhood. Memories that I hadn’t tapped into for quite a long time, and how silly right?

In these times when money seems to be more scarce everyday, the one thing that is still free (and can’t be taxed!) is our memories. I just love the following quote;

Laughter is an Instant Vacation
~ Milton Berle

So when times get a bit rough and you need a bit of a break, perhaps we can take a short vacation by coming up with a memory that brings you joy. Going through old pictures, calling a friend or even finding some cute video on YouTube might help bring about that mini-vacation that we all deserve.

Thank you again Mrs. Hurley, and thank you for this morning’s vacation!