Then and now...

Today's the first day of school in our province. It's just teachers today, with students heading to classrooms on Thursday.  

Because I used to work in schools, those first-day jitters still have an effect on me. And last night I had the dream of being back there -- only not in a way that was fun (seeing colleagues and students, happy to be back together). This was definitely a nightmare. 

Similar to other anxiety dreams I sometimes have, it was all about not being prepared. 

I was in the high school library where I spent my happiest school years, but I was teaching an English (or maybe Socials?) class, and I completely lost any sense of control. The kids were definitely the ones who were in charge, and the situation was complicated by a few senior students who'd decided that, since it was the library (open to all), they could sit in the midst of the other students and talk as if they were the only ones around. 

When I woke up, I was relieved at it being a dream, but it made me think how much times have changed. 

Students used to take pencils and notebooks to class. Now the 'notebook' is a laptop, and they're also packing hand sanitizer and packets of cleansing towelettes. 

As for the calculator, if you look closely up top, there's a pencil box with a sharpener tucked into one end. Looking even more closely, you might see a sliding 'bar' along the ruler that tops the box. It served as a non-mechanical calculator of sorts, back in the dark ages when I was in Grade Three. You slid the bar along the ruler and could find answers to the times tables, numbers we eventually had to memorize. 

Not quite a 'slide rule' (an object I never mastered), and certainly not something today's students would have on their list of school supplies to keep in their backpacks. 

There but for the grace, etc. go I during these challenging days. And hallelujah, just about three o'clock -- time for the bell. Bless 'em all, and may they be safe. 

What's next?

The other day someone asked, "What's the first thing you want to do once this whole social distancing thing is over?"

After thinking for a bit (quite a few things came to mind), I decided that one of the first things I want to do is probably give a hug to our letter carrier.

She's continued to faithfully bring bills, pleas from charities I've never heard of, magazines (which do generally manage to brighten my day), and even the occasional (way too occasional) cheque.

She's also brought a small semblance of normalcy to life. There she is, nearly every day, stuffing something or other into the letterbox. Even when it's just another real estate flyer or pizza promo, it feels like a little bit of contact with the 'outside' world.

The most amazing items to have arrived during these weeks of isolation have been the personal ones. An Easter card, a wonderful letter from an 'auld acquaintance' and even a thank you note.

Days when there's nothing there, I admit to a stab of disappointment, as if I've been forgotten. One result of these days is that they've made me a little bit better at sending out cards and notes of my own. Even though sending notes through the post is slower than the instantaneous e-connections we've grown accustomed to, our communication doesn't always have to be via email, or worse (in my mind at least), by way of Facebook.

And hmm. I seem to have a pile of postcards I've collected over the years. What, exactly, I'm saving them for, I'm no longer sure.

I think it's time that I start sending some of them around -- if for no other reason than to maybe give a postal employee along the line a small reason to smile.