Greg Stevens sat at his desk staring about his classroom. The students had dashed out as soon as the final bell had rung. Every student lives for the last day of the school year, and even though many of them liked Mr. Stevens, it wasn't enough for them to stick around for even a few minutes.
He thought about his career. He had been an English teacher for the last nine years. There were parts of the job he couldn't stand (standardized tests and grading papers were at the top of the list), but he really did love working with the students.
Granted, the first couple of years were rough. He was way too uptight about discipline straight out of college. The third year, he had a special group of students that made him realize that he could be a better teacher by showing his students that he cared about them instead of insisting that they follow a list of random rules.
He hadn't thought about those students for a while. No one would blame him. This year had been a huge blow to his life. His met his beautiful, loving wife in college. They both claimed that it was love at first sight as they tried to check out the same book on English Lit from the library, and they were married in 6 months. She was a teacher of history, and their discussions of literature and history, and how each of the two reflected the other fueled much of their date night time. Both felt that a great conversation was also foreplay to a night of great passion.
After graduation, they both got jobs at the same school -- he taught 7th Grade English, and she was in 8th Grade History. Two years later, Mary gave birth to their daughter, and two years after that, they had a son. Life went on. Most days they followed the same routine. They would drop the kids off at their elementary schools, and then they would drive to the Junior High. At the end of the day, they would just do everything in reverse. Occasionally, one of them would have to stay to do some tutoring or grading or something.
That's what happened that day at the end of September. Greg had a few students that were really struggling with writing their essays, so he decided to stay an extra hour to work with them. Mary planned to get the kids, and then take them to her parents. She was then going to back to get Greg so they could go out to dinner together as a treat for them. Mary had just picked up the kids, and was driving to her parents' home in the country when the semi following her lost his brakes. He slammed into the back of her little compact car, and shoved her forward into the rear of another slow moving semi. She and the kids never had a chance -- all three were killed instantly.
Greg walked around in a daze for the next few weeks. The lives he cherished for the last few years was gone in an instant.
Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, his principal sat him down for a long talk.
He started, "Greg, how are you doing?"
"Honestly, Matt, I feel like crap."
"Greg, you can't keep doing this to yourself. You know I would never say anything to show disrespect to you or your family."
"I appreciate that, Matt."
"I know you deeply loved your family, and I'm not asking you to forget them. But I've also watched you grow as a teacher the last eight years. Remember, I'm the one that hired you straight out of college. And I've seen how your love for your students has grown each year."
"I do my best."
"Really, Greg? Can you honestly say that you're doing your best right now? I'm not sure I can truly understand how much you hurt right now, and I hope to God I never find out. But you're hurting your kids in the classroom just as much. They see your pain, and they know you're not giving them everything they need."
"I'm sorry." Greg started to tear up -- he could hear what his principal, his friend, was saying, and he knew it was true. "It's like all of my heart was crushed in that car that day. I'll try to do better."
Matt said, "I'm giving you an extra-long weekend this week. I want you to take off the next three days to do some serious thinking about how you want the rest of the year to go. And don't worry about the days off -- because I know that you're going to be thinking about school, I'm going to call these days professional development."
"Matt, I don't know what to say. I guess . . . just . . . thank you. You really are a good friend."
"Well, that's what friends do. Now be serious about this -- think about what you want for the rest of the school year. How can you make those kids in your classroom feel special and loved?"
So Greg went home, and he thought. He sat on the deck and watched the birds on the feeder, and he thought some more. He pretended to watch some programs on TV, and he thought some more. By the time Sunday night came around, he had made a decision. Unfortunately, it was not the one his principal wanted to hear.
"Okay, Matt, I did what you wanted. I thought about what was going to happen. I'm going to do everything I can to bring life back into my classroom."
"That's what I wanted to hear. Fantastic."
"But, Matt, this is it. At the end of the year -- seven months from now -- I'm leaving."
"What? No, you can't."
"Matt, I have to go. I love this school, I love my friends, and I love my kids, but there are too many painful memories connected here now. As long as I'm still here, I'll never fully heal."
"Okay, Greg, I do hear you. As your friend, and your principal, I hate what you're planning to do, but I respect your reasons for needing to do it."
"Thanks, Matt."
With a smile, Matt then added, "Of course, you have to expect that for the next seven months, I'm going to be doing everything I can to trick one of my best teachers in to staying."
Greg chuckled (a rare thing these days) and replied, "I wouldn't expect any less."
**********
So Greg Stevens continued to stare at the desks in his classroom. He would have to come back next week to finish grades and pack up all of his stuff, but today he just couldn't quite bring himself to leave. He had told all of his friends to not make a fuss on his last day, because he knew it would tear him apart. As it was, he could feel the tears start to form.