Lindy set her mug on the back counter and reached for the cup of unsharpened pencils. She had made pencil sharpening one of the kids' jobs; she had too much on her plate for her students to not do everything they could to help her. Zephr probably forgot—as sweet and well meaning as he was, he did tend to be forgetful. Putting the first pencil in the sharpener, she let her mind wander. As much as she enjoyed the quiet mornings in her classroom, she rarely had the opportunity to savor them; her days were simply too full.
This past week had been especially crazy. With the warm April weather, her students' minds had gone to the arrival of summer, and their restlessness had only grown. She had found herself giving more than the usual number of reminders to be kind, to follow directions, and do their best work. That had only made her feel tired and grumpy. It was hard to be gentle and patient when she felt that the students were causing her trouble. Still, she knew it wasn't all their fault. It was testing season, and this past week alone, her students had been subject to two long testing sessions. The tests were hard; she had seen that for herself when Principal Kyle had had her give them a trial run her first year teaching. She had barely been able to sit through the ordeal, and she knew it was only harder for her students who were just ten or eleven years old. She didn't think the tests were age-appropriate, but they were required, so her students didn't have any choice. Her heart sunk every time she saw her students come back from the computer lab some of them almost in tears. She just smiled at them and tried to remind herself that she was still making a difference.
The exhaustion of the season had her wishing for summer. This year, it meant that relaxing days with Garrett were just around the corner. Still, she couldn't wish the time away. Now that spring break had passed, the end of school would be here before she knew it, and this year and its class would fade into the recesses of her memory. Today was just a blip, a momentary pause before the future arrived. Her first class was ninth graders; soon her current fifth graders would be just as old. Before she knew it, they would all be adults—towering over her and facing the world for themselves. The grand opportunity she had to shape her students' lives came with an expiration date. Come May, they would no longer spending their days learning from her about what it means to love life and live it to the fullest. Soon, they would only hear her voice in their heads.
She hoped it would be enough. There were too many voices telling the kids they weren't enough. There were peers who inconsistently unkind, and busy parents whose words said one thing and actions another and standardized tests which said they could sum up all of the year's learning into a single number. Lindy watched with sadness as her students returned from testing sessions positively demoralized. She tried her best to prepare them; but as long as they thought their worth depended on a number, it was not enough. Why couldn't they see what she saw—that they were beautiful and kind and growing? She'd do anything to change their perception even make the spring twice as long, so long she'd fear summer would never come if only she could help them see themselves for who they were. Perhaps the school district hired her to teach the students the academic skills and knowledge considered necessary for sixth grade, but she aimed even higher. Her goal was to prepare her students for life—to help them to see that the possibilities in front of them were endless if they believed that nothing could stop them. How ill-prepared she sometimes considered herself for such a task, but how unwilling was she to aim any lower.
The sound of footsteps interrupted Lindy from her musings. She glanced up from the sharpener to see Garrett in the doorway. Her heart rate speed up, and she couldn't stop herself from smiling. How powerful was he to make her whole day brighter! "What are you doing here?" she asked in surprise. "I thought you were taking a personal day." She didn't know how Garrett handled personal days, but she knew that she always wanted to be as far from the school as possible. His appearance made no sense.
He didn't speak, but merely walked towards her. As he approached, she noticed that his eyes were twinkling and one eyebrow was raised—Garrett was to something. She knew him too well to not know the signs. Once he was close enough, he grabbed both of her hands in both of his. "You ready?" he asked before answering his own question. "You're Lindy; you're ready for anything. Well, in that case, Miss Watson," he said playfully. "I guess I'd better tell you."
He had hardly stopped before she started pleading. "Please, please, tell me Garrett." Her impatience had him laughing and soon her as well. How did surprises have her thirty-five year old self as excited and antsy as a kid on Christmas Eve? It would have been embarrassing except that she had learned to let go of the self-consciousness years ago. Her quirky excitement made the world brighter, and she'd take some laughs at her own expense if that were the case. Besides, she knew that for all his griping about it over the years Garrett wouldn't have liked her any other way. Making the world brighter and making Garrett happy at the same time, well, that had her feeling like she had hit the jackpot.
"Before you say anything, you need to know I triple checked with everyone, and they all said it'd work...but you're taking a personal day today. We're going to go do something fun."
She could hardly believe her ears. Garrett had gone to the trouble of clearing this with her friends and family and Principal Kyle and had written sub plans for her? It sounded too good to be true. "Really?" was all she could manage.
All of the sudden, his hands had moved from holding her hands to the side of her face. He felt so close. His eyes had stopped twinkling and had soft look in them. She wanted to reach up and kiss him, but they were at school. This was not supposed to be happening here. "It's okay, yes?" he asked gently.
"Oh yes," she said pulling him into a bear hug and burying her head in his chest. "How'd you know?"
"Today would be boring if you were here and not with me." Garrett was seriously the sweetest, and Lindy felt like her heart would burst. How had she gotten so lucky as to have this kind man not just for a friend but for a boyfriend? She had no idea how, but she definitely wasn't complaining.
Garrett's voice interrupted her thoughts. "If you look on your computer, I sent you the sub plans. You'll probably want to tweak them. I can get the room ready."
She let go of him and walked over to the computer. "Sure," she replied. She laughed. "I still can't believe it. Today is going to be amazing. I have perfect confidence in your planning skills."
Garrett glanced up from the back counter with a smirk. "I appreciate it, but I don't know if I deserve quite that much confidence. I mean after all I'm the one who planned the trip to the arcade across the street right after a school event. But if we're together, I'm sure that it will all turn out all right."
Lindy glanced back at the computer and couldn't help thinking that Garrett had never been more right. As much as she had loved the single life, nothing could compare to walking through life with her favorite person at her side. Garrett was truly wonderful; and in loving him, savoring him, and making his life better; she had found so much joy. They had been talking about the future recently, and she knew it wouldn't be long—perhaps it would even happen today—before he would ask her to give up life as Miss Watson for that as Mrs. Spenger. She knew she would say yes. She was ready to start forever with him.
