Brenda Mahler

It wasn’t long after I retired that a teacher friend, called to ask if I would substitute for him. My exact words announced my reception to the idea, “I would rather crawl through glass naked.”

I was thirty days from retirement, enjoying a weekend away at our cabin retreat, the place I call home. All seem right with the world. Then the phone rang. Yes, I acknowledge a 7 a.m. Sunday morning wake-up call creates an abrupt awakening, but it happens sometimes. However, when my husband answered, I heard long pauses and tones of concern. Thinking something had happened to my 84-year-old father, I listened attentively. When Randy used the pronoun “she” alarms blared. Something had happened to one of my babies.

This morning while watching the news, my husband stood up and walked away from the TV muttering, "Trump would be a terrible substitute teacher."

When our children moved out the our house and started families of their own, the house felt empty. An eerie quiet filled the rooms. Going to work and visiting with friends, kept us busy and at first, I enjoyed the peacefulness - until we retired.

We teach children to understand the world around them through the application of the alphabet.

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