This photo Tim took reminded me of Mary Oliver’s poem, Summer Day, especially the part where she writes,
I don’t know exactly what prayer is
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Summer is a time to be idle and blessed, to kneel in the fields of beauty in the midst of our everyday lives. Summer can be so fleeting, at least here in Duluth. We need to take the time to capture those moments of awe.
I was reminded of this while out walking the Lake Walk this week. Just past the Rose Gardens I ran into the teacher I will be a paraprofessional for this Fall. It was so good to see her again. We talked briefly about the kids that will be in the class this year and what awesome games she found in her rummage sale shopping.
Soon many of us will be returning to class. This Fall our daughter Maddie too will return to the classroom. She will be teaching in her very own Kindergarten room. She passed the exams last week and is anxiously waiting for her class list. I’m guessing I will be doing some of my own rummage sale shopping to help her fill her shelves with books and games.
As I thought of Maddie and her excitement and fear about what will happen in just a little over a month, I was reminded of Dorrie, a kindergarten teacher who was also an active member of the congregation I served.
Dorrie taught kindergarten at many Duluth public schools such as Nettleton, Cobb, Washburn and Chester Park from the 1950’s until the 1980’s. She was a devoted teacher, like so many others purchasing out of her own pocket the supplies she needed for her classes. She made furniture for her kindergartners out of orange crates. Dorrie had a special wand with a star on the end to tap her children awake from their naps each day.
Dorrie chose to be a teacher. After high school she saw two possible paths, go to college to learn to be a teacher or pursue a career in professional dance. She was an outstanding dancer and was already teaching jazz, tap and ballet. Dorrie chose to go to Chicago State Teachers College and Northwestern University. She would go on to teach for over 40 years.
I’m not sure Maddie will teach for 40 years, but like Dorrie she has made a deliberate choice. She graduated with an undergraduate degree in Economics and found employment with a Finance agency in Philadelphia. She enjoyed it but in the midst of the pandemic felt called to do something else. Her love of kids, always in her heart, urged her on to take the big steps necessary to teach.
Perhaps it was with the pandemic pause she dared to listen, really listen to her heart. Summer days help us all to do this if we let them.
Oliver ends her poem with these powerful words,
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
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