Today’s blog
Lynn Murphy Mark
Times gone by
Today is a big day for my grandson, Cameron. He starts Kindergarten, and so his voyage through our educational system begins. He is going to public school because both parents support public education. My daughter is an educator herself. I know she will try not to be a “helicopter mom”, having had experience with that hovering, demanding kind of parent. However, she will not hesitate to speak up when it is needed. There is a difference.
Apparently Cameron drew the best Kindergarten teacher at his new school. Jackie may have had a little something to do with that – one educator to another, she requested Mrs. C. and got her. Cameron met her last week when he went for “Popsicles with the Principal” day at the school. I have a picture of him smiling broadly over a red popsicle while his brother, Xander, sat glumly next to him holding a green one. So, today I wish Cameron the perfect opening day to a long career spent in classrooms.
My kids went to school in Webster Groves, Missouri. Their school experiences started at The College School of Webster Groves, a small, wonderful private school that uses experiential education techniques. Immersion learning is a thing there, along with a deep appreciation for nature and the outdoors. It’s a delightful place for kids and parents, at least in my experience. They both finished at Webster Groves High School and went on from there to colleges and graduate schools.
The other day I was running an errand and my route wound through Webster, past the cross street to Drayton Avenue, where the kids grew up. I don’t live in Webster anymore, but each time I come to a familiar street, to the main drag, or past the schools where the kids spent their childhoods, I feel a tug of nostalgia. Sometimes it is stronger than others, but it is always present. Often the place where people raise their children has a certain allure, a certain connection to a past that lives in a sentimental section of the brain. That’s true for me, anyway.
Passing the College School I remember so many milestones for the kids. One memory is very clear: Ted had to have a tooth pulled while in Kindergarten. I dutifully took him to the dentist, who came out of the room with a big smile. “Ted says only Miss Honey can pull his tooth!”. Miss Honey was his teacher and had handled a loose tooth situation before. It took a lot of convincing before Ted would let the dentist near his mouth. The College School teachers were special people and I was very comfortable handing my children over to them each day.
When I sold my little house in Webster I left 20 years of memories behind. Since then I have lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Naples, Florida, two very lovely places. When we decided to move back to St. Louis, home prices in Webster and its neighbor, Kirkwood, were beyond what we could afford at the time. I’m sorry about that because there is a big part of me that wishes we lived in my old stomping grounds. But past is past and can’t be lived over again. It is nice, though, to spend a little time remembering the best of it. There are blessings there for which I am grateful!