Taking Time

Know this woman? Most of you probably do. :). This is the late Joan Ebbesmeyer - a remarkable person.

To complete our "moving in" process (at least where furniture is concerned), my wonderful daddy brought over my desk today. He also brought a tub that he had dumped all the contents of the drawers into (uh, my bad for not cleaning out my desk in like 10 years..). Searching through the tub did provide a great opportunity for a walk down memory lane - not the least of which was triggered by this picture.

Mrs. E was many things to many people in her lifetime - to me, she was a fantastic EXCEL teacher - she introduced me to the worlds of poetry and writing and mind puzzles and GeoBoards, and Geography, and memory tricks, and higher level thinking, and well, all things awesome. And then she moved. And while we were blessed to have another wonderful teacher step in to teach EXCEL, there was a special place in my heart (and the hearts of many others) for Mrs. E.

So, I wrote her. Apparently more than I even remembered! Because, when I was cleaning out my desk I found this ....

A pile of letters I had received from Mrs. E. Who knows what all I wrote Mrs. E. I know, based on my re-reading of her letters back that she was one of the first people who knew when Isaac was going to be born. She sent me some helpful information when I did a report on France and sent me several pictures of herself on vacation. She expressed excitement about my decision to pursue a degree in Elementary Education and congratulations on my high school graduation, college graduation, and wedding plans. But honestly, I could have cared less what she wrote. I was just thrilled that she wrote.

I know I wasn't the only person who loved attention from Mrs. E. I know I wasn't the only former student who ever wrote her a letter (though I may be close to having written the most!). I know she didn't have a lot of extra time on her hands to sit around writing kids notes. But she did. She took time to answer ever one of my notes - and not just with a simple card or short few words ... but a real, "adult-like" letter that meant the world to me each time I received them.

Mrs. E made me want to be a poet - a love that I still secretly dabble in. She nurtured my obsession with "wise quotes" and "cute sayings". She taught me to follow my passions. She taught me to reach out to others. She proved one person can change the world.

I'll probably never travel the world quite like Mrs. E (or, anything like Mrs. E did if we're being honest...). I'll probably never publish as many writings and books as she did (even though someday I'd love to! If I even knew where to start...). But, thanks largely to her inspiration, I will teach.. (Okay, okay, you could argue that I'll probably never teach quite like Mrs. E ... but a girl's gotta dream!).

Looking back through all Mrs. E's letters it amazed me, once again, how she was able to touch my life so much from far away (okay, 2 hours away - but rarely seen!). Mostly because she took the time. She took the time write me back. Every time. She took the time to send me pictures. She took the time to write me poems (or include already written poems). She took the time to talk to me like a real person - not a little kid. She took the time to expect a lot from me - and let me know that she was expecting a lot. She took the time.

I want to teach like Mrs. E. I want to be that awesome. And I want to have enough time - always. Even when my life is crazy hectic as I'm sure her's often was. I want to remember to take the time to make the impact. Because I'm so thankful she did.