“Ahhh, Don’t worry. We’ll get Bug Spray when we get to Anchorage…”
It is high noon on Friday July 17th, year of Our Lord 2015.
My world has been bit up, chewed up and spit out. In a matter of weeks, I have crashed through the walls and into the street with the Mud and the Blood and the Beers. What was once “normal” left on the last train to Clarksville. It’s been a challenging and eventful series of circumstances but by the Grace of God and with the love of my wife, I am still standing. I’m no longer up against the ropes, taking punches off the chin. I have bobbed and weaved, deflected and even swung back. The tide has turned and I am once again in control of calling the shots that affect my life.
After 14 years of teaching 6th Grade in Small Town, Minnesota, I am stepping out of my comfort zone and taking a leap of Faith. I leave next Thursday to begin a year of service to the children and families of Kivalina, ALASKA.
Michele is the thing I love most about ME. She is my guiding light and ironically, the one to shove me off the cliff. Michele faithfully stood beside me while others cast stones in my direction. Michele watched painfully as others questioned my character, integrity and commitment, meanwhile, hers never waivered. She is as equally intelligent as she is beautiful and I am impressed regularly how elegant and insightful she really is. I would not be the man I am today without the love and attention that she has committed to our family and me. Point is, she’s as much a part of this decision as I am and is excited for US.
There was no perfect time to tell Emma and Logan. I struggled with delicate thoughts of abandonment and was depressed daily as I sorted through the things that I might miss in the coming year. My wife counseled me that those things will all be there when I return and one missed musical or birthday will be but a droplet in my children’s collective childhood. The lessons that they will pull from this are hard to see right now but we are confident that leaving, even if just for a while, will teach them about commitment and love, determination and faith, trust and honor. With no perfect time or place, I was running out of time and so we just told them… at Fat Pie Pizzeria in Fairhaven, Washington - last week. And it was perfect. Like them.
The hoops of licensure through the Alaskan Department of Education have been jumped through. The check is in the mail. I am approved and registered for orientation and a multi-cultural graduate studies class through the University of Alaska Anchorage. The flight is booked.
School starts in Kivalina on August 18th – yet I begin the next leg of my journey in six days.
There is packing left to do. LOTS!
There is shopping and resting and more running left, too. LOTS!
Last night the Small Town, Minnesota School Board approved a one-year Leave of Absence. And this morning I faxed my signed and notarized contract to the Northwest Arctic Borough School District in Kotzebue.
Last night I sat at the kitchen table with my bearded friend who’s partially responsible for this exciting chapter in my life. He and I discussed the ins and outs of teaching in “Bush”, AK. We talked about adventures had and more to come. I was looking over packing lists with a fine-toothed comb when I asked him about Bug Spray…
“We’re from Minnesota, Ben. Do I really need to pack bug spray?”
“Ahhh, Don’t worry. We’ll get Bug Spray when we get to Anchorage…”
And that makes me smile.
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