From Floundering to Flourishing

The best word to describe me during childhood was awkward. I was the tallest of everyone in my class until high school, including the boys. I always stood out, yet I was very shy, so I felt both physically and socially inept. I wasn’t a girl boys sought out. I was only in eighth grade when my height peaked at six feet, but I was late to develop. My body held out until my sophomore year. Too much information? Oh, get over it!

I found an escape in music. I took piano lessons, played flute in the school band, and sang in the school and church choirs. It was no surprise that I chose music as my college degree.

I didn’t like the cold Minnesota winters, so my remarkable transformation came in 1987, shortly after I graduated from Concordia College (go Cobbers!) Um, yes, our mascot is a corncob. No, I'm not kidding. Again, get over it! I also got married that summer.

My new husband, Paul, and I took our full-blooded Siamese cat, Sadie, and set out caravan-style on a journey to my first music teaching job in Cottonwood, Arizona. Paul took the lead with our well-worn but trusty Toyota van, and I followed with our green Gremlin, which I had purchased from a mutual friend for $50.

When we made it to Iowa that first night, a raging storm dumped pools of water on us. We could hardly see the road. I followed Paul to a rest stop, hoping we could wait out the worst of it, but it wasn’t letting up. Sadie wasn’t happy in the van. I wasn’t happy being in a car by myself. That all changed, because the Gremlin, living up to its reputation, refused to start despite our best efforts. The old adage, “You get what you pay for,” comes to mind. It didn’t take us long to decide to abandon the car and carry on together in the van. After scavenging what we could from the old car in the rain, we continued on with poor, traumatized Sadie hiding in the back of the van amidst our meager possessions. She came forward only to use the cat box or for food and water, all of which we kept on the floor behind our seats.

Paul and I took turns driving and sleeping through the night and into the next morning. When we rolled into Denver, all the major roads were under construction. We crawled along, stop and go (very little go), until finally arriving at the Best Western we had booked for the night. We scored a discount because we had both worked at the Best Western in Fargo, North Dakota, just across the Red River from my college town of Moorhead, Minnesota.

As the hotel didn’t allow pets, we smuggled Sadie in with a backpack. Luckily, she was always a quiet pet. In the elevator, she managed to get the zipper loose enough so she could pop her head out, much to the delight of the only other occupants, a nice man and his young daughter. The girl giggled to see a cat head staring at her in the elevator.

When we got to our room, we ordered pizza and when it arrived, we gave Sadie a few small pieces of beef. Showering and sleeping on a bed made us feel like royalty. The next morning, we made sure to tidy up after ourselves and our cat and left a tip for the maid.

What an adventure we had driving through the stunning western mountains! We finally descended the mountain from Flagstaff and arrived in Cottonwood, Arizona with great relief. I discovered I was a day late for the district back-to-school gathering. Even if the letter outlining the schedule had arrived before we left, I doubt we could have made it a day sooner, but it all worked out in the end. Finally, I was a music teacher.

I love my town, my students, my fellow teachers and my administrators. I love inspiring students and helping them develop a fondness for music and some skills along the way.

Incidentally, I was able to donate the abandoned Gremlin to a worthy cause over the phone.

After an awkward young life, I finally fit in. This is my 35th year at the same school. I feel like I landed where I belong.