I had my MapQuest printout sitting on my lap and two sweaty palms gripping the wheel. I drove 170 having no clue just how familiar I would become with the area. I saw the sign, "Piney Orchard" and continued to follow my directions past Waugh Chapel, past the shopping center and the roundabout, and made a left on Strawberry Lake Way. It was about 2 months into the 2002 school year and I had been an intern. That was all about to change, and so was my life.
My supervisor at Salisbury had been in to observe me teaching lessons at Shipley's Choice Elementary since the start of the school year. On my last observation with him, he told me that my second mentor teacher at Piney was pregnant with twins and needed to get off her feet for the health of the babies and would not be able to oversee that placement. He paused for a bit after he told me this and then gave me one of my first and most memorable professional compliments. He said, "Tiffin, you were born to do this. I have gotten the principal at Piney Orchard to agree to meet you and possibly have you take over Mrs. Lombel's third grade class. You wouldn't be an intern, but a long-term sub and the teacher that shares a door with you, Barry, will check in on you every now and then to make sure things are going well."
Fast forward to the next Monday, past the sweaty palms on the steering wheel, past the booger check in the rearview, and commence the walk up the front doors of the prettiest elementary school in the prettiest neighborhood I had ever seen. I caught a glimpse of myself in the door windows thinking how ridiculous I looked in the blazer my mom had me wear with shoulder pads, that was too long in all the wrong places. How did I let her talk me into that? I looked like a toddler playing dress-up, and frankly, felt a little like that too. What do I know about interviewing and having my own class?! What am I doing here? I haven't even graduated yet, I haven't even had a full internship! Ready or not, I opened those doors and walked into the office, all eyes on me. Carole looked up from her desk, adjusted her glasses with the longest finger nails I had seen to date, and growled, "Can I help you." Feeling like I should have taken another Imodium, I "ummmed" my way through an introduction and she waved me into the principal's office. There sat, my supervisor Lou, the principal Dr. Bokee, and a super-stylish heals-wearing, raspy-voiced assistant principal Janine Robinson. I was so out of my league here. They all asked me a few questions and were extremely welcoming and kind. I was escorted to Debbie Lombel's room and introduced to the rest of the team: Barry, Marcie, Lynn, and Debbie. Holy cow, I knew Lynn!! Her and my mom were friends from church and she hugged me and smiled and told me everything was going to be great. I believed it! Barry made me laugh at least a dozen times while I was there, Marcie had a beautiful white-toothed warm smile, and Debbie showed me the ropes of her room. Dr. Bokee asked me if I would be interested and I gave him my best smile and said, "absolutely."
I struggled that first year. My class missed their old teacher, there were some behaviors that I had never seen before, and parents that were less than thrilled that this 22 year old with zero experience was now their kid's full time teacher. I made it through with prayers from Lynn, smoke breaks with Barry, a million laughs in the lounge with my team, a couple parent-encounter-saves by Janine, and a whole lot of happy hours. After having to get my own substitute, so I could graduate, I finished out the year and was already becoming a stronger teacher. I was arranging supplies and cleaning out Debbie's room when Dr. Bokee came in, hands in his pants pockets, looking down a bit and making me seriously nervous. He said, "Tiffin, Debbie isn't going to come back next year. She is going to stay home with her kids and I was wondering if you would like to fill the position as 3rd grade teacher?" I jumped up and down, I hugged him (boy, he was NOT a hugger!!) and said yes, yes, YES! He gave me a list of things I needed to get in order for HR and a timeline to do it. The next school year, the outside of that room said, "Miss Lilly" and I couldn't have been more proud.
The following 2+ decades I built a home at Piney. I have moved my classroom 10 times, taught 3 different grades, have had 5 principals, a dozen interns of my own, and have cultivated incredibly deep connections. Having friends who truly know you, your dreams, fears, and secrets, is a profound gift. Those unbreakable bonds have been sources of immense support, understanding, and joy throughout my life's journey. And as you all know, my life's journey hasn't been the average trip.
There are memories that live in my heart and in the concrete walls of Piney. I see Dan standing in my classroom door, his eyes full of hope and pleading. We had broken up, but just like with any favorite rom-com, I knew I was getting back together with him the moment I looked up and saw him there. I remember crying when Barry told me he accepted another position and we wouldn't be the side-by-side dynamic duo anymore. Then cracking up when I found the matchbox in my desk with the note that said, "Not cry, I give you cookie." Our inside jokes still make me chuckle. I remember listening to Jill telling me about navigating toddlers, marriage, and life and thinking how awful that sounded. LOL I remember Allyson walking into my classroom one day, sitting down, and never leaving my heart. We didn't get enough time together during the day so we would talk on our drive to work every morning. I remember Michelle plucking the lemons off my topiaries at mine and Dan's wedding and squeezing them into her drink. I remember Michelle, Jill, Karen, and Sharon walking through the door of Aspenwood on January 1st 2010, eyes wet, mouths frowned, words unspoken. They just sat with me. They were there. The community and work family sent prayer shawls, and food, and letters from students and family pouring condolences into my shattered heart. I remember Nancy starting as a 5th grade teacher and thinking she looked just like Tara from Sons of Anarchy. She came to the 3rd grade team and I caught her on the phone one day making cat noises like a weirdo in the planning room while on the phone. I knew I was going to love her. A few years later, these were the people I flashed my hand to in the main hallway of the school the morning Nick proposed, on my mom's birthday 2012. My People.
My Piney family grieved with me again when I lost my mom that very next month. Everyone also celebrated my joys, the highest being Lawson entering the world in 2014. A few years later, Michelle is the one who held my hand in her car, driving back from Newks to Piney on Kindergarten conference day, when I got the call that one of my twins had a syndrome called Trisomy 18. She checked in on me between every one of the conferences I had to trudge through that day. Again, my Piney family held me up. They cried tears of joy with me when Levi came raging into world in 2016. There are countless memories that will live forever in my heart and they all happened during my time at POES. Piney Orchard Elementary School and the relationships I have built in that building, have actually built me.
The first few classes of my career are now young moms and dads with families and careers and winding roads of their own. I hope that each and every one of my students past and present know that I was always learning from them too. The teacher-student relationship is often portrayed as one-sided, with the teacher imparting knowledge to the student. But in reality, it's a dynamic exchange where both sides contribute to the other's growth. I do and will continue to value the influence my students had and will have on shaping me.
Oooo. This one got me!! Bittersweet indeed. I am excited for your new adventures ahead as you play an important role in other's winding roads. Xo
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