Dashing into the store for a bottle of canola oil (just had to grab it for a favorite cookie recipe) I was stopped in my tracks by the words, “Hi, Mrs. Karjala!” I turned and saw her – a former student from my days as a Learning Disabilities Specialist at Pinkerton Academy, our local high school. It took me a minute, but then it all came back to me. That senior year of hers. We began to reminisce together about the horrific car accident that turned her ankle 180 degrees in the wrong direction, setting her back for months. We remembered how we set up a tutoring schedule and began the hard work of working her through to graduation. But she made it! What a proud day for both of us.
Her next words were a rare treat for me. “I couldn’t have done it without you!” No one could have planned this “chance encounter”. But it happened, between the flour and the vanilla.
Later I began to think of the many kids I’ve been privileged to help at crucial points in their lives, and was once again grateful for my vocation and the fulfillment it brought to me. If you are or have been a teacher, your work is noble and lasting. Give yourself a pat on the back, if no one else is doing it. Tell your colleagues that their work is astounding. It’s a high calling, often undervalued in our society, but fundamental to our cultural success. These “Random Encounters” are rare, but the “kids” remember you.
Then I remembered some of the many people who have sowed into my life with their kind words. The gentle speech therapist who worked me out of my lateral “S”. The caring pastor who took time to listen to my “big” faith questions. My sweet grandma, who assured me that I would not be twelve years old forever. And more recently, my friend who pulled me aside and said, “Are you okay, really?”, my cousin who assures me that I’m “normal”, no matter what I tell her, my children who cheer me on with “Good job, Mom!” . I could go on for days. Have I stopped to drop a note of thanks in the mail, or pick up the phone to let them know what a difference they make for me?
Oh, the power of our words. It’s been said that the power of life and death is in the tongue. Our world today is smeared by angry, pointless words. Must I indulge? Are such “conversations” worth the sacrifice of a relationship? What about taking the high road, looking for the positive in the person who irritates the dickens out of me with his “annoying” opinions? Maybe, just maybe, I can find something “nice” to say to sweeten up the encounter and surprise us both. After all, we are all human. That person who makes me grit my teeth could even become a source of joy for me, as my student and so many others have been. Who knows?