33

Now usually this whole thing goes the other way around, a mother saying how proud she is of her son, but I feel like my mom deserves some recognition for doing what she did.

About a month ago my mom retired. At the age of 57 years young she was able to walk away from the career she started over three decades ago. That is absolutely incredible to think about. My mom spent nearly 60% of her life as a teacher at Montour. Over the course of her teaching career she saw over 6,000 students pass through from freshman to seniors, and for a large portion of that time she was in charge of their graduation projects. She was an English teacher, head of the graduation projects, and in her earlier years of teaching the volleyball coach and head of prom planning.

My mom has run the gamut when it comes to being a teacher. She's seen every type of student this world has to offer. The underachiever, the overachiever, the goody two-shoes, the stoner, and everyone in between.

For as long as I can remember I always wanted to be a school teacher like my mom. I would tell her, "Mom I want to be a teacher like you!" And when she asked why that was I would exclaim, 'Because I'd still get every summer off!" As I grew older I realized that there is so much more to being a teacher than having your summers off from work. I'm not sure, but it seems like making a difference in someone's life would far surpass spending summers at the pool. Even if it's just one kid whose outlook on life or literature changes as a result of your teaching it seems like it would be worth it. I'm sure my mom would agree. One really passionate student with a thirst for knowledge makes up for a hundred of his less enthused peers.

I know that in my life I had a handful of teachers who made a significant impact in my life, and I'm sure that my mom had that very same impact on some students over the past 33 years.

And yet, somehow, we don't give teachers nearly the recognition and respect they deserve. Without teachers what would this world be? I imagine that for the most part it would be barbaric. We'd be a society of illiterate, unknowledgeable fools. Teachers are there to lead us on a path to discovery. They are there to wow us and show us things we never knew could exist. They rule over us and guide us to be the best versions of ourselves that we can be. In a lot of cases they believe in us more than we believe in ourselves. They expose us to so much about the world. They make us question the truths we initially viewed as absolute, and they encourage us to never stop learning through constant questioning. In layman's terms, teachers make us think for ourselves when we'd rather blindly follow. Teachers in America aren't compensated the way they should be. That's my honest opinion. They deserve so much more than we give them.

And yet, a select few continue to choose to educate us.

Somewhere amidst all the teaching, coaching, and planning she was doing, my mom managed to meet my dad. Then soon after they were married she got to embark on the greatest teaching plan of her life...becoming a mom. I can say from first hand experience that even though I never sat in my mom's classroom as a legitimate student she is the best teacher in the world. Her teaching prepared her for motherhood, there is no doubt about it. I can't even begin to recount the numerous lessons she's taught me. Or the number of times she has edited a paper for me. Or the multiple occasions where she would also serve as a geometry tutor. My mom is a jack of all trades and master of a few. One of her masteries is her love of and ability to read books. It's also a something that she's passed on to Jenny and I over the years. When I see Jenny crack open a book or pull out her Nook, I see a little part of my mom shining through. It's a beautiful thing to see.

I remember take your child to work day in elementary school consisted of switching off year after year. One year I'd be with my dad at Alliance Retail and the next year I'd be wandering around the halls of Montour High School. I remember that when I went to work with my dad I would do things like walk around from office to office collecting what I considered "goodies" (in reality they were just paper clips and different pens, but I thought they were the bees knees). But when I went to school with mom I would watch her teach her classes. It was like 7 year old me actually belonged in a class with kids over twice my age. I would spend part of the day playing games on her computer, and when no kids were in the room I would throw a bouncy ball off the walls and desks. But the thing I looked forward to most were the times my mom would ask a question to her class and nobody would know the answer, so I would raise my little hand as high as I could and she would call on me. See I always knew the answers because I heard it from her a class period earlier. Mom would look over at me and I'd answer the question with a huge grin on my face, as if I had just outwitted one of the world's greatest minds. And she'd smile and me and make a quick quip at her class about how even I knew the answer. Funny how you remember little things like that.

Also, for as long as I've been alive my mom has had a stack of papers to grade. It doesn't seem to matter what time of year or day of the week, she always had a stack of papers to read or tests to grade. And each and every paper, without fail, was graded with the same brand and style of red pen. They're her favorite pens. And even though she always seemed to have some work to do, she managed to make time for family first. If it meant reading papers at one of my soccer or baseball games she would do it. Family always, ALWAYS came first.

In her last few years as a teacher mom grew tired of the new, "fun" environment she was supposed to be creating for her students. She felt like as time passed more and more kids were beginning to care less and less about school. The general level of apathy seemed to skyrocket. Over and over again she was dealing with parents of students who said, "why did my son get this grade? He didn't deserve that!" And I know my mom coolly gave each parent the same levelheaded answer, when she deserved to tell those parents to go to hell. Because honestly is there anything worse than a high school senior who needs his/her mom or dad to go fight with a teacher about a grade?

'The truth of the matter, ma'am, is that your son/daughter is a lazy, incompetent, unmotivated slob."

But she never got to say that, and frankly it isn't her style to behave like that. She's much to elegant and formal to ever stoop to that level of behavior.

And that's just another reason why I'm so proud of her. She's much more diplomatic than I'll ever be.

There aren't enough words in my head or heart to explain how proud I am of my mom.

She could probably help me out with selecting some more stirring words, but that would ruin the sentiment. I'll just stick to the basics and let her tell me ways I could've spiced it up. She'll also probably read through this later on and make a mental note of the number of commas I misused or omitted.

Luckily for me she'll be reading it on her iPad so she can't use that damned red pen to correct me.

So here's to my favorite teacher, who was also my first teacher, who is also my mom. I love you mom, and I've very grateful for everything you've done for our family.

NP: Hey Mama - Kanye

Lucky Part 2

So last time I blogged I wrote about how I was feeling lucky. But what isn't fair is that I didn't specifically mention one of the biggest reasons I feel so lucky. I sort of lumped this reason in with friends and family, never taking the time to specify what it was. Or who is was, rather. 

I know that not writing about her had made her upset. Not because she ever expected a blog specifically about her but because she had read blogs from the past that were aimed at specific individuals. Time and time again I would blog about things that came to mind, and yet I never specifically mentioned her by name. I know that made her question things between us. So this blog is for the girl who's made the past 11 months of my life some of the best. This one's for you, Allison.

There's not really a right place to start this, I don't think. I guess it could start was back in January of 2014 when I first met her. If there's one thing the Pi has given me it's her. She was sitting in the crowd listening to me talk about why someone should join our coed fraternity. I never got to talk to her that night, and I don't think our first real interaction came until the interview process. I remember exactly where we sat in Market for our interview. I remember I ate a salad and then texted her after the interview because there were Lucky Charms. (I don't remember who was asking about the cereal, me or her, but for some reason that has resonated with me.) Aside from our interview I never got to talk to her because of the whole "fear of hazing" thing. But when April rolled around and she was officially a brother we dove head first into really getting to know each other. Before long I was spending time in Holland and she was coming over to my jank apartment to have me cook her spaghetti...I guess I should've known then that she was a keeper since she didn't flee from that hell hole.

But then summer came around. And as much as we said, "we'll visit," I honestly wasn't sure what would happen. I had only really been talking to her for two weeks. But summer came and went and saw us visiting each other four or five times. On one excursion to Hershey I decided I didn't want to wait any longer and I asked her to be my girlfriend. She probably thought it was the corniest thing ever since it came right after watching "The Fault in Our Stars," but she said yes. (On second thought that's a pretty depressing movie to choose as the one you ask a girl out after.) I forgot to mention that somewhere between the start of summer and me asking her out she was lucky enough to meet my crazy family and vice versa. She warned me about how dysfunctional hers was and I warned her about mine (more specifically about my dad). But things went better than expected and I like to think both families genuinely enjoy the others company. 

Then the school year rolled around and I had zero idea what to expect from it. I didn't know what it would be like to have a girlfriend that goes to school with me. 

It turned out to be one of the best things I could ever ask for. I was instantly given another study buddy, a new proof reader, a movie companion, someone to workout with, and someone to go out with. Now we're over a year into a relationship and I can look back and say I wouldn't change any of it. We've had our ups and downs like anyone, but those have only helped us to better understand one another. 

I wish I would've wrote this blog sooner because honestly she deserves it. I guess I was just too caught up in the moment. See I used feel like writing a blog was the only way to get people to notice me. That's the honest to god truth. People responded to blogs. It made me more interesting or more appealing because I was spilling it all on some website and people got to pick me apart and see what I was all about. But with Ally I didn't need a blog. I just needed to be myself. So the blog took a backseat and I only wrote when something really pressing came to mind. But it's high time I gave her something to look at. 

She's done so much for me I can't even begin to thank her for it. But I think the number one thing I need to thank her for isn't helping me win a scholarship for next year. (Which she did. She told me about it and helped me write my essays.) In fact the bigger thing I have to thank her for is for being the most honest and loyal friend someone could ever ask for. She transcends what it means to be a girlfriend because she's honestly my best friend too. She's the one I want to talk to morning and night and the one I plan my adventures with. And through all of it she makes me a better version of myself. More than anyone else in college she's opened my eyes to the effects some words can have on people. Things I took for granted I now see the full weight of. And even though we bicker back and forth about politics, she's opened my eyes to other viewpoints that I previously discredited. 

She's so many things to me. Documentary aficionado. Movie critic. Political complement. Ice cream lover.  My better half, my girlfriend, and my best friend. 

And because of that, I feel like I'm the luckiest guy I know. 

NP: You Had Me at Hello - ADTR