She walked to her desk and sat down. Gazing over the rows of seats, she reflected on her first year as a teacher. So many ups and downs flashed through her memory.
As her eyes came to rest on Amber’s desk, she began lapsing into more memories. Then a knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. She looked over to see Cassie poking her head into the room.
“Hey, friend!” Michelle called out. “Come on in.” She stood and went over to meet her halfway.
They hugged each other tightly. “It’s so good to see you, Michelle. We’ve missed you around here the past couple of weeks.”
“I’ve missed you, too,” Michelle said.
“So how’s the baby?” Cassie asked with a smile.
“He’s wonderful. Still so tiny, but growing like a weed.” Michelle gestured to a chair near her desk. “Sit down.”
“I can’t stay,” she replied. “A bunch of us are heading over to the Coffee Stop. Want to come along?”
“I’d better get home. This is the first time I’ve left Caleb alone with Steve. But tell everyone hi for me.”
“Okay.” Cassie hugged her again. “You’re coming back in September, right?”
Michelle took a deep breath. “We’ll see,” she replied. “It all depends on how things go this summer with Caleb.”
Cassie nodded. “No problems with Amber, right?”
“None so far. They moved to Arizona last weekend. Hopefully this will work out with her parents.”
“It’ll be good for her to start fresh at another school in a different town.”
Michelle nodded.
“Well don’t be a stranger this summer. Call me, and we’ll meet for lunch or something,” Cassie suggested.
“Sounds good,” she replied. “Enjoy your break.”
After Cassie left, Michelle walked through the room, picking up the stray books and placing them in the bookcase. Then she packed away the personal items she’d left on her desk, turned off the lights, and headed for the office.
She spoke briefly with the principal, promising to let him know about September.
“We’re holding your spot,” he said. “If you need a little more time in the fall, you always have the option of another long-term sub.”
“Okay. Thanks.” She smiled and gave him a quick hug. “Thanks for being so understanding this year.”
“You’re a great asset to this school, Michelle. I sure hope you’ll be back.”
She nodded and wished him a happy summer.
Time to get home to her family. Although she loved teaching, above all else, those three people owned her heart.
Someday, I’ll be back. That’s for sure, she thought as she descended the front stairs and walked away from Magnolia Middle School.
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
Dear Readers,
Thank you for sharing Michelle’s journey with me. If you have been reading this series from the start, you know that much of my life is intertwined with Michelle’s. This story is no exception. Teaching was my lifelong dream, sparked in a third grade classroom where I was a student myself many years ago.
I always planned to be an elementary school teacher, but God had plans of His own. After an anxiety disorder completely robbed me of my dreams to ever stand before a classroom of students again, I fell headlong into the arms of Grace as I encountered a God I’d never known. He rebuilt my life and restored this dream that I thought I’d lost forever.
Gently leading me into a classroom of tiny preschoolers, He nurtured my confidence and moved me gradually from three-year-olds, to third graders, and finally to my ministry to middle schoolers. I spent fifteen years teaching those adolescents caught between childhood and adulthood, one day resembling my preschoolers in their silly antics, and the next inspiring my admiration with their sensitivity and insight.
I have many wonderful memories of those classrooms where hormones raged and students tried to become who they were meant to be.
But I will say, it was never easy.
I smile and shake my head when I overhear someone talking about the easy life of a teacher. They fantasize about a job that would give them summer vacations and a two week break at Christmas.
But they have no idea about the hardships and heartaches, the fears and frustrations, and the incredible balancing act teachers experience as they seek to meet the individual needs of so many students with so many issues, not to mention the increasing burden of a system that elevates rote test scores on standardized exams as the pinnacle of achievement.
It always made me smile when I would run into a student in a grocery store or at the mall, and they acted amazed to see that I actually lived and breathed outside of the classroom. Although good teachers carry every one of their students home with them in their hearts, people forget that they must also care for their own children and spouses and all the routine chores of life.
As many teachers know, sometimes a very special, needy student comes into a teacher’s life and changes it forever. This happened to me more than once. The first year I taught junior high, I had such a student. Interestingly, he is now married to another former student of mine who started her own teaching career in that very same classroom not too long ago. I’m blessed to see those two doing so well and to have been able to maintain contact with them over the years.
Probably my most life altering teaching experience was a 7th grade boy who graced my room with his presence two years in a row about ten years ago.
My first impression of this young man was not good. His loud, disruptive actions made teaching that class the most difficult challenge I’d ever faced. When I first started praying for him, I confess that my prayers were Please move him to another room, God.
Wouldn’t you know that he would end up actually needing to repeat 7th grade?
Thankfully, by the end of the first year with him, God had given me a mother’s heart for this boy. I could see how vulnerable and sensitive he really was under his tough guy façade. About seven weeks into the second year of having him in my room, the administration was on the verge of expelling him, when God put it on my heart to intercede for him.
Going to the principal, I asked if there was any way I could help this troubled kid stay in school. His offer – keep him in your room all day everyday. This meant that while my other 180 kids came and went throughout the seven periods of the school day, he would remain in my room from 7:30-3:00, sitting at an isolated desk behind mine, and working on all his academic subjects while I taught my English classes. It also meant he’d have to stay with me during my prep period and lunch break.
By the end of the first week, he was calling me ‘Mom.’
God used that time to stretch me as a teacher and to grow this boy in the knowledge and understanding of His unconditional love. In a public school setting, this young man’s father asked me to openly share my faith with his son, in the hopes that it would help him in his struggles in life.
Lots of prayers, shared scriptures, and tears marked that year. Even to this day, eleven years later, I still pray for this young man whom God placed into my adoptive heart. Not too long ago, I received a letter from him from across the continent. In it he shared the positive impact that year had on his life as well.
And so, I have had my own Ambers and though never an actual adoption of a child, there’s no denying that some of my students have been clearly placed into that position in my heart.
Each of us is called to reach out to someone, somehow. God created us for good works that He prepared for us before the beginning of time. I pray that Michelle’s story has inspired you to examine your own life and ask yourself what God’s purpose might be for you. There is nothing more fulfilling than finding that purpose and going forth with His guidance and blessing.
Stay tuned for book four in the Sandy Cove series, Around the Bend to be released in the fall of 2014. After six years of living in Arizona, Amber Gamble will return to Sandy Cove with the goal of building a new life that includes her son. How will this impact Mic
helle and her family? To receive notification of its release, please email me and request to be added to my list of readers. And be sure to connect with me on Facebook for all the latest news and updates: https://www.facebook.com/RosemaryHinesAuthorPage
With deep appreciation and love,
Rosemary Hines
[email protected]
http://www.rosemaryhines.com/
PS. If you are new to the Sandy Cove Series and would like to travel back in time to follow Michelle’s journey from the beginning of her new life in Sandy Cove, Out of a Dream (Sandy Cove Series Book 1) and Through the Tears (Sandy Cove Series Book 2) are available for immediate download on Amazon.com.
BOOKS BY ROSEMARY HINES
Around the Bend
Sandy Cove Series Book Four
Rosemary Hines
Phil Walker glanced around the circle at the faces before him. Gray hair and softly wrinkled expressions told tales of long lives now experiencing their sunset years. Tranquil Living Residential Home had welcomed Pastor Phil as their chaplain and Bible teacher several years back when he made his retirement from full-time ministry official. Thanking God daily for this opportunity, he carried on a calling he’d felt since his youth.
Although he’d served as pastor and shepherd to far larger flocks over his nearly seventy years behind a pulpit, there was no group of people he loved any more than these seniors. Surveying their faces, he noticed several had dozed off, their heads bowed as if in prayer. Margaret, the oldest of the group, stared into space, her eyes seeing a world long passed as Alzheimer’s transported her to a younger day and time. Studying her face, he wondered where she was this morning. Was she caring for her household of seven children? Or perhaps still being courted by her would-be husband?
Phil had seen the ravages of this disease as it robbed his parishioners of the present, but he’d also discovered an unexpected element of God’s grace and mercy in the midst of the confusion. While a mental fog clouded occasional family visits, he knew some treasured memories were still very much alive in the hearts and minds of those who were lost to today.
He’d watched frail old women rock their baby dolls with tender love and fiercely protective maternal instincts. He’d witnessed others introduce their daughters as sisters or even mothers. And one of the much scarcer men residing here would repeatedly retell of his latest homerun on a high school all stars team. Those snapshots from the past provided meaning and purpose to their otherwise empty lives.
Perhaps the present lacked the magic of the past. Maybe they were living in a better time and place in the confines of their deteriorating minds. Might there be an element of mercy in that?
Phil turned his attention to the final prayer of their morning service. Closing the Bible resting in his lap, he nodded to the group, “Let’s pray.” Then he bowed his head and lovingly lifted his little flock to the Lord.
As he began walking out to the curb to await the senior transport van for his ride home, he remembered to turn his phone back on. A beep alerted him to a voice message. Sinking onto a shaded bench flanking the parking lot, he listened to his granddaughter Michelle’s voice.
“Hi Gramps! You’re probably at your Bible study right now. Just wanted to make sure everything’s set for your trip here for Caleb’s birthday party. Grandma’s not picking up, so she must be running errands or out in the garden. Give me a call with your flight number when you get a chance. We’re looking forward to seeing you guys. Love you!”
He smiled and sighed. Sometimes it was still hard to believe that his precious granddaughter was a mom. Where had the years gone? A wave of fatigue anchored him to the bench. Lately it seemed like he never could find his energy.
He closed his eyes for a few minutes, allowing the gentle breezes to caress his face. Feeling himself starting to drift off, he forced his eyes open and took a deep breath. Searching the parking lot, he spotted the van pulling into the driveway.
It had been almost a year since he turned in his license at the DMV. Although he missed the convenience and independence of driving, he knew his reflexes were not as sharp as they used to be. The last thing he wanted to do was to cause injury to his precious wife or someone they encountered on the road. Besides, thanks to the baby boomers, services like Senior Rides made it easy to get from one place to another.
Pushing himself off the bench, a slight sensation of dizziness caused him to struggle for balance before heading to meet the van.
Michelle Baron stashed her students’ term papers in a canvas bag and propped her feet on the coffee table. Finally! The last paper had been scored and recorded. Summer vacation was just around the corner.
Every fall, she eagerly welcomed a new batch of students to her English classes at Magnolia Middle School, and each spring she prepared herself and her students to move on to new teachers and classes the following year. Some groups were easier to send off than others. This year, she’d had an exceptional batch of students – bright and eager to learn, with very few struggles over major life issues.
What a contrast to her first year!
Sitting back in the embrace of their cozy sofa, she picked up a family photo that stood proudly on the end table. Smiling, she traced her finger over the faces of her husband, Steve, and their two kids, Madison and Caleb.
Steve still had his boyish charm and a smile that melted her heart. Madison’s blonde curls and blue eyes matched her dad’s as if painted with the same brush. She was tall and thin like Michelle, but lacked any other resemblance to her dark-haired, hazel-eyed mother. At eleven years of age, Maddie was almost a middle-schooler herself.
And then there was Caleb—their sweet and unexpected addition to the family.
Michelle’s mind drifted back to that first year at Magnolia and her troubled student, Amber Gamble, the biological mother of their son. From the very first day of school, Amber had challenged Michelle with her attitudes and behavior. It wasn’t until she perused Amber’s confidential file that she’d learned about the circumstances triggering this student’s hard shell and abrasive personality.
A broken home and her mom’s mental collapse had left Amber and her brother Jack in the foster care system. Sadly, they’d been separated after Amber’s behavior led to her removal from their initial placement, resulting in a string of foster homes for the teen girl.
Michelle had done her best to reach out to Amber, getting to know her foster mom and social worker and even volunteering to assist with supervised visits between Amber and her brother at the local park after school. Gradually, Amber had let her guard down with Michelle, confiding in her and even attending church with their family.
Unfortunately, Amber also let her guard down with her older boyfriend, Adam. A high school junior, it seemed like he really loved her. And she needed to feel loved. Eventually that need evolved into a sexual relationship that led to something no eighth grade girl should have to face— an unexpected pregnancy.
As soon as she realized how much trouble she was facing, Amber came to her trusted teacher for advice and assistance. Although Adam wanted her to abort the baby, Michelle felt Amber needed to know all her options.
An ultrasound at the doctor’s appointment solidified in Amber’s mind the reality of the new life beginning to develop in her womb. Her decision not to abort resulted in Adam’s rejection, leaving Amber even more dependent on Michelle.
Then one morning, Amber had asked her to become the baby’s adoptive mother. That moment was frozen in Michelle’s memory. The gamut of emotions still surfaced each time she recalled that encounter.
Michelle glanced back down at the photo, gazing into Caleb’s eyes. Although he looked a little like Amber, he’d been a part of their family from the moment of his premature birth nearly six years ago. His sandy brown hair, spiked in a long buzz cut, and his round cherub face were so indelibly imprinted on her heart that it sometimes surprised her they did not share the same DNA.
Looking away, she thought about Amber again. At this
time six years ago, Amber was in her final trimester of pregnancy, and Michelle was preparing a nursery for Caleb as she tutored Amber after school to help her with her studies. Then came the late night call that Amber was in the hospital needing an emergency C-section. Michelle shuddered, remembering the dread she’d felt as she raced to the hospital, wondering if Amber would be all right and if the baby would survive.
Michelle had taken a leave of absence from the final weeks of school to be at the hospital with tiny Caleb. The days blurred together into a series of visits and preparations for a baby that hadn’t been expected until later in the summer.
Closing her eyes, she relived the day Caleb was released from the NICU. She’d known Amber would be there to say her last goodbye, so she and Steve had come to the hospital without Madison, not wanting their daughter to witness whatever would unfold in the process. Although Michelle had expected it to be difficult, nothing could have prepared her for the heart-wrenching scene that unfolded in the NICU that morning.
Thankfully both Amber’s mother and her social worker had been there. After handing Caleb to Michelle, Amber collapsed into their arms, and it had taken both of those women to nearly carry her out of the unit. She never even looked back, Michelle recalled with a sigh. That was the very last time she’d seen her student.
Although Caleb quickly became her focus and the attention of her maternal love, her feelings for Amber and the deep bond they had formed over that year still resided in a private place in Michelle’s heart. Grateful as she was that Amber had not tried to be a part of Caleb’s life, there was also a deep sorrow and yearning Michelle felt about this hurting girl who had become like one of the family.
Was she okay? How was life unfolding for her in her new home and school in Arizona? And were her parents successful in reuniting and becoming a family again? So many of her questions would probably remain unanswered.
Into Magnolia (Sandy Cove Series Book 3) Page 27
