Mary Richards
Stories (2)
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Ummm, I think I'll be a Teacher
Every morning was hectic at my school. The kind of news that was necessarily passed around in the office before the kids arrived, often included FYIs such as, "The (fill in the blank) house was shot up again last night. Nobody hurt, but all the kids were home, so be looking for signs of trauma." My first few months at the alternative school were lessons in opening my eyes and ears, and keeping my mouth shut. The bad news was delivered daily, sometimes more than once. So every morning was hectic. How to be prepared for the students who had been involved in any way with the shooting. I learned fairly quickly to keep my facial features neutral during all conversations with students and their parents. The lives of my students were so far from anything I had ever experienced as child or an adult, that I was in a state of shock by the stories that were so nonchalantly shared. Shootings, physical and mental abuse, abandonment...all things that I could not relate to on a personal level. But I learned to listen, and I learned to be patient. And I was hooked. I had never experienced the energy I received from my interactions with these at-risk students. And for whatever reason, they seemed to like me. So at age 50, I became a certified English teacher for grades 5 through 12.
By Mary Richards4 years ago in Education
The First Christmas
THE FIRST CHRISTMAS Patrice leaned on the counter in her tiny kitchen. The light was dim, which suited her mood. Everything she needed was out on the counter; the mixer, the recipe, butter, flour, sugar…everything. Everything was there but her mom. Tears blinded Patrice’s eyes as she picked up the old, stained recipe for her mother’s special Christmas cookies. “Louisa’s Christmas Delights… Patrice had baked these cookies many times with her mom in her childhood home, music playing, wine flowing. She had always been the one to help with the holiday baking. And now her siblings were looking to Patrice to bring the cherished cookies to the first Christmas without their mother.
By Mary Richards4 years ago in Families
