Why Did the Chicken. . .

The school where I am currently working is rural – very rural. So on my way through the back roads to get to and from school, I often encounter wildlife of some kind. 

On two days I have been joined by a buck bounding alongside my car – safely on bank that lines the road. But a surprising and delightful sight nonetheless. 

Another day, I encountered a squirrel that, unfortunately, couldn’t make up his mind and just as he reached the roadside (almost safely) he darted back into the road in time to encounter my tires before I realized what he had done. I almost cried. 

The very next morning- in the exact same spot – a brother squirrel was waiting for me. He stood firm in the middle of the road, staring me down and daring me. Thankfully I saw him and stopped in time. I had to honk the horn repeatedly to make him move – he refused to take more than one hop at a time.

And then there was the day that I encountered an old joke- a whole line of chickens crossing the road. Most of them looked like roosters, but that seems odd since I’m fairly sure that I was once told that you only wanted to have one rooster because otherwise they would fight.

But there was one that was obviously a biddy- and she stood smack on the middle of the road, looking both ways over and over before deciding to go back to the side from whence she came. I stopped the car and waited (What else could I do?) for her to make her decision and laughed aloud at finding myself in the midst of a real-live joke in progress. I truly don’t know why they were crossing the road in the first place, but apparently, it wasn’t a good enough reason for that particular hen.  Perhaps she was simply acting as the crossing guard for the others since she did stop in the middle and look both ways to see where the rest were going. 

Who knows, but I sure am having a ball on my daily drives into and out of the deep woods. 

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Back on the Steps

Some of you may have noticed that I’ve taken something of a break lately. I’ve had a lot going on. We recently moved our daughter into her dorm, been to banquets with my older son for some of the groups he may be participating in as he starts college, and gotten my younger son started at his new high school as well. Not to mention that I’ve had a few interviews lately. And God has placed me, for the time being, at a middle school again. Not the one I left before, so that is a true blessing. 

This school is truly in the middle of the woods – we have a chicken coop on campus too. The best thing about this school for me – part of God’s blessing- is that almost every bright spot, almost every person that left a school to find a better place- is now at this school. Even our school nurse is married to one of my favorite professors from my doctoral program. 

The principal is extremely supportive and believes in placing God first and family second and school falls somewhere underneath. And yet, or maybe because of that, this little place is the center of life in the woods. 

I must say that there are a few bright spots still not at this school, and I’m trying to maintain contact with them too. 

I am learning that it truly isn’t about my ability as a teacher, or my devotion to my job. God is opening my eyes every day to the fact that it is really about serving the students. Something I thought I was doing before, but my thoughts were a bit out of focus – I thought that my ability (that God blessed me with) was what made me a good teacher. It isn’t. What makes me a good teacher is my openness to allowing Him to meet the needs of my students through me. My body and mind as vessels of His gentleness, His kindness, his joy, and His delight in them. 

I’ve also been bottle-feeding Kitting Kat. She stayed in our bushes when her mama moved the others into a neighbor’s yard. (The neighbor promptly took them to a shelter.) I thought I might convince my family that she was meant to be with us – and it worked on the boys. However, there are people in my home who are claiming to be allergic to her, so we are looking for a good mommy or daddy for her. 

So I’m readjusting to a school day schedule and the realities of having almost grown children. I will keep posting, though it may not be as often as I did this summer. 

Thanks to all who are following for your patience and your encouragement. I’ve learned so much from some of you and I am truly grateful. I look forward to continuing this journey with you. 

As a final note, I’m not changing the name of the blog just because I’m back at school. I have come to believe that the small moments in each day are a little sabbatical in and of themselves.