This Pause in Honor of Social Studies Teachers

I loved my high school Social Studies teacher; it was really sort a love/hate relationship. He threw away assignments for having dates written with "slashes, not dashes." Yes, I had a paper thrown away. But he also opened up the world to me. I will never forget the words written on the board on the first day: "The hardest part of anything is the start." I've found so much truth in those words over the years. I'm still learning from Social Studies teachers. This week I wrote a note to my daughter's Social Studies teacher about plans to pause and take part in the upcoming inauguration.

Having grown up in the Washington, DC area, my patriotic blood runs deep, and we always observed every historic Inauguration Day. Each one marks a point in the history of our nation in a way that birthdays, graduations, weddings, funerals, and celebrations mark points in our personal lives. I want my children to have the space and opportunity to watch and listen to this upcoming event in our nation's life. As the teacher responded to my inquiry about the school plans (since we dont' have a holiday that day), his many years of seasoned time in the classroom were revealed in his thoughtful words. He responded, "It seems sometimes that the world is moving too fast to pause, observe and reflect on events around us, that we have to get on to the next "thing".

It's raining at my house today. The air is cold, and the sky is gray. I think I'll just enjoy the chance to pause, to watch and reflect on the events of this day in my life and just let "the next thing" wait where it is. Maybe I'll even just sit and stare out the window. That's not natural for me to do, because my urge is to be productive and to enjoy the exhilaration of making progress. I suppose that "the next thing" will still be around tomorrow. "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble," Matt. 6:34. That's permission to pause, so I think I will.

Thanks, Mr. S. for reminding me to stop and pause and reflect. This pause is in your honor.