Bands
of diffused light
Reaches
from the living sun
To
touch our faces.
Thursday, August 12, 2021
I
never set out in life to be a role model, but that seems to have been my fate.
For
25 years I was an elementary school teacher. I didn’t start out wanting to
teach, but as with many of my fellow liberal arts majors looking for gigs,
adding on the additional year it takes to earn a teaching credential while we figure
out what we want to do seemed like a better option than continuing in the
economic dregs of retail.
The
years just kept adding up and while I never experienced that “I found my calling”
moment, I did feel I grew competent enough in the job to keep at it.
Part
of what goes into teaching is knowing that you’ve got 20/30 children looking at
you everyday to see how you’re handling yourself and others under all kinds of
circumstances. And in that respect, I thought I did a decent job of developing
an environment of trust and affection. And that goes a long way in making
teaching both enjoyable and honorable.
Now
in my second career as a program guide at a high-end wellness center, I have
again stumbled into a job that has placed in the position of role model.
At
63 I am older than almost all our guests and for many reasons I am in generally
better shape than most. Often that means I’m held up as an exemplar of the
program. But although I do believe there are many positive aspects to our
program, it’s not how I got to where I am.
But
I don’t mind. I do feel it’s rewarding
to be admired for my health. It’s not nearly the burden I felt while teaching
and it prods me to continue to look after myself.
