It was good for me to work during this season of my life. The new challenge of teaching kept my mind busy, and the children gave me tons of joy! The only problem was that (as one of my friends put it) I was working in a petri dish full of germs!
Chemo is notorious for annihilating the immune system, and I was no exception! Throughout treatment my white blood count was lower than low. There were times we would get to El Paso and there would be a debate about whether I could tolerate more chemo because of my blood count.
I thought about wearing a mask to protect myself from the germs, but because I was using multi-sensory teaching techniques, the children needed to see my mouth and clearly hear my words. A mask just wasn't an option.
My next thought was, if I can't wear a mask, maybe the children can. I got the greenlight from administration, then explained to the kids about the cancer and my fragile immune system. I showed them the masks, and asked them to wear them if they had any symptom of sickness. We spent a few minutes writing their names on their masks and decorating them, then I put them on the shelf where the kids could get them!
Throughout the spring semester the children would consistently come in and go straight to the shelf, get their mask, and put it on if they had a cough, or runny nose, or just felt bad. I never once had to ask them or remind them. Once the novelty of wearing the masks wore off, they were a pain, but the children continued to wear them to protect my health. Even now, when I think about it, I get teary-eyed because the children were so caring!
Much of the spring semester I felt like I worked with a combination of the flu and a stomach bug. It bothered me that my 'chemo-sickness' would negatively impact my classroom. Thankfully, the children progressed beautifully in their reading, writing, and spelling skills.
Beyond academics there were some pretty important life lessons happening too! Certainly, lessons in consideration, and helpfulness! Hopefully I demonstrated lessons in pushing beyond tough circumstances, while maintaining a good attitude!
This may sound like the year was kind of dreary, but In the midst of the difficulties, there was lots of laughter! The funniest thing that happened was while we were doing an activity, my cap fell off. The kids were shocked to see my bald head, and they weren't sure how to react. Their precious, confused little faces were so adorable I couldn't help but laugh! When the kids realized it was ok, we all just sat on the floor laughing until tears ran down our cheeks!
I guess when you pass through hard times and look backwards, you can see the many blessings. My blessings came in the form of precious students, supportive administration, and my sweet fellow teachers, friends, and family who sent floods of cards and messages of support, hope, and encouragement!
I will always remember the 2017 - 18 as the hardest year of my life, but it's a year I wouldn't trade for anything. As I reflect back I have great gratitude for the many blessings this year brought!
