Recently, I was dining with a dear friend (and former colleague) who has not yet retired. She was regaling me with school tales…many of which are continuing sagas from drama that was occurring when I was still working almost 15 months ago.
While recounting her tale, she mistakenly (having just swallowed a bite of apple bread pudding) said, “In the mist of all this,” instead of “In the midst of all this.” Immediately, in my mind’s eye, the characters she was describing seemed to emerge from a haunting mist. Their actions became more mysterious (and, in some cases, more nefarious) due to the addition of their now foggy setting.
The teachers’ workroom, filled with consistently broken copiers, benefited from a fine haze winding itself from the stained floor tiles up and around the defunct machinery. Ever-changing copy repairmen appeared through the vapor, lugging their black tool boxes, sighing as they removed scotch-taped pieces of copy paper from the machines, NOT WORKING scrawled in black Sharpie.
Lengthy faculty meetings (that could easily have been emails) now seemed more chilling, instead of merely boring, as the speakers’ faces loomed sporadically through the gloom.
Although I always enjoy my friend’s stories, her apple-bread-pudding-induced slip of the tongue added even more intrigue to the telling.
Moving forward, I think I prefer to hear about what’s happening in the “mist” of it all…because even though I love retirement, I’ve “missed” many of the everyday dramas that unfold in the day of a teacher.
10 responses to “In the Mist”
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Stephen King could have a field day with that slip. What was is the mist? How did it affect those woh came in contact with it? Did the mist surround just the school or the entire community?
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Definitely! Some school drama rises right out of the mist, if memory serves! Haha!
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It was the first day of school around here and I really was MISTY watching the kids come out of school in their new outfits still excited about the potential of the new year, I do not miss the endless faculty meetings or the backbiting colleagues, but I do miss the power of watching children learn. It’s OK to be misty I decided and put extra energy into my tutoring lesson!
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I certainly miss the excitement of the first day of school; but I know I’m also blessed with the chance to watch my granddaughter experience first steps and first words. I’m so happy about that.
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How lovely, to eat bread pudding with a teacher friend and hear these stories… and NOT have to actually battle the mist! (Sounds like she probably left you fortified, too!)
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Definitely! We try to get together regularly, and I always give her as much time to vent as needed.
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Lori,
We’re retirement twins. I’m also fifteen months out from a lifetime of teaching. I’m also loving it, but I, too, am sometimes curious about how things are changing at my school, especially now that there’s a new principal and more and more difficult district and state mandates.
I love how your imagination embraced your friend’s slip into the “mist” and how you fleshed out that idea so fully.
I’m currently taking a moment to think about the changes at my school (which I visited today) shrouded in mist. How fun!
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Thanks, Sharon! Retirement has been a big adjustment for me. I babysit my 13-month-old granddaughter two days a week, and I love having the flexibility to do that. On days when I don’t have my granddaughter, I find myself missing my students and the structure that the school day provided.
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“Although I always enjoy my friend’s stories, her apple-bread-pudding-induced slip of the tongue added even more intrigue to the telling.”
Amazing how a single word can change the entire feel and context. So fun how your imagination took off with the word “mist.” A good and spooky word.
I need to have more dinner with former colleagues and you activated my late night sweet tooth with the mere mention of bread pudding.
Congratulations on your retirement! And precious time with your granddaughter.
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Thank you! I am adjusting to retirement, slowly but surely. Time with my granddaughter is priceless!
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