Posted in School Life
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I read in the paper that Mrs. Shirmeyer's husband passed away. That's how I always thought of him. I know his name is Paul--they were members of the church I grew up in, and my parents' friends. But Mrs. Shirmeyer was my first-grade teacher, and that relationship supersedes any other relationship I had with her, even to this day, forty-eight years later. The Catholic school I went to did not have a kindergarten, so first-grade was my first school experience. I remember we got to wear a dress the first day (instead of the navy-blue uniforms every other day). My dress was purple, and I remember being called out by Mrs. Shirmeyer the first day, when the class was asked to find something in the room that was red, blue, green...I was the only thing that was purple. I was so proud! So many, many wonderful things that year. Learning to read, and add and subtract. The lollipop tree you got to utilize once your "seatwork" was done. I won a reading contest with a copy of The Little Engine That Could as the prize. Moving from one Dick-and-Jane reader to the next. (I never found them a dulling influence, as many homeschoolers today do--they were pretty exciting to me!) I have two memories from that year revolving around red tights. Mrs. Shirmeyer had told us that if we ever had to use the restroom (we called it the Lavatory), we just needed to raise our hand. We were all doing our seatwork, and Mrs. Shirmeyer was re-doing a bulletin board, with her back to us. I raised my hand, and after a couple of minutes, waved my hand more and more frantically, but then...it was too late. And I was wearing tights. eeuuww. She asked me why I didn't come up and tap her on the shoulder. But, you see, I didn't know then that I was a very Literal thinker, and she had said to raise our hand if we had to go, and it would have Never Occurred To Me to do anything else. At Christmas time, I was honored to play Mary in the afternoon Christmas program. All the Moms were there, and the Daddys who worked second shift. Joseph Kapp played Joseph, in his green chenille bathrobe. I had a beautiful blue satin scarf on my head, and red tights under my bathrobe. The rest of the first-graders were behind us, singing Silent Night. I was kneeling by the manger, in a very holy way, you know, when my tights began to ride down. It was very irritating, and I wanted more than anything to reach down and pull them up. But I was determined to wait until the song was over. Three verses is a Very Long Time to do nothing but think about how your tights are riding down. By the last chorus I couldn't stand it any longer, and reached down and yanked those babies up! The crowd burst into laughter. Humiliated again! So you would Think that first grade would be something to Forget. But Mrs. Shirmeyer was magic. And I never forgot that magic. I last saw Mrs. Shirmeyer three years ago, at my mother's funeral. She came with Mrs. Shirmeyer's husband. (yes, I still thought of him that way, tho' I did manage to call him Mr. Shirmeyer...) I can't help it. She still seemed magic to me. How many doors of wonder and awe she opened up. No one could have had a better "first" teacher, outside of their own Mommy and Daddy. And today, I am praying for Mrs. Shirmeyer, that she will be comforted by our Father in her time of loss. And thanking our Father, once again, for the privilege of knowing her. |
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Posted by Janny Marie