Yesterday, Dr. Nancy Cook, my principal at ECMS for the entire time I have been there announced that she is retiring. Not only is she retiring but Ms. Jean Cotton, who has also been there with me since I started is also retiring. Both are going on to be Grandmothers. In so many ways, I am so happy for them both but I cannot help but take notice of the selfish side of me who is quite sad at the departure of both ladies. Southern Ladies and Steel Magnolias would be a more accurate description of them both. Both ladies in their own special ways have added so much to my life.
Jean Cotton, the Language Arts teacher extraordinaire, has taught me so much and taught Jackson as well at a time when he desperately needed a good LA teacher. Not only is she an excellent LA teacher she is also one of the wisest women I have ever met. You can always walk out into Jean's "learning cottage" a.k.a. trailer and talk to her about anything from a difficult student or co-worker to how painful your divorce has been and how heart broken you are over a dating relationship post divorce coming to an end. She always supplies not only wisdom but comfort and encouragement and she will gently deliver what I need to hear but might not necessarily want to hear. I cannot fathom how I will get through my days at ECMS without Jean and her frogs. I still have an email that she sent to me over a year ago sharing some of her own personal heartache and encourgaging me to keep my chin up and push through. I take it out and read it every time I start to feel sorry for myself. I look forward to my morning hall duty because Jean is there to discuss The Walking Dead, what movies are filming in Senoia, how I will survive when Granny Ann is gone and who's going to fill her shoes. To say that I have grown to truly love this woman, who I might had has even preached an excellent sermon at her church, is the understatement of the year. Jean Cotton, I will miss you more than you know and you have impacted my life in a tremendous way.
Dr. Nancy Cook, principal at ECMS, too has impacted my life in a tremendous way though very differently than Jean. Five years ago, I needed to go back to work after staying home to raise babies. Dr. Cook gave me a chance teaching Special Education in a middle school, neither of which had I ever done before. Why she decided to take a chance on me I will never know but she did and it was by far one of the best things that has ever happened to me. Teaching middle school and Special Education has been one of the most challenging things I have ever done but it is also one of the most rewarding. I have stretched myself and done things that I did not even think were possible. I will forever be grateful to her for seeing things in me that I never saw in myself and by doing so helping to have the courage to find my niche in the world professionally. Throughout my divorce, I found great solace in coming into work every single day. The simple fact that I knew exactly what was expected of me and what to expect allowed me to breath. Leaving each day with things so uncertain in my life was tough but coming into work was such a relief. I credit not only Dr. Cook but a fantastic group of colleagues as well. I will never forget looking up from the podium at my Dad's funeral and seeing Dr. Cook sitting there. It gave me the strength to carry on with grace, dignity and I hope a poise that I certainly did not feel because that is how she conducts every meeting. Not only did she attend the funeral but she made a special point over the next several weeks and months to just stop by my room to check on me. It is not everyday that you are fortunate enough to have such a, as I affectionately call her, "boss lady." Just today she thanked me for the insight that I bring to the table. She will be missed greatly but as with Jean the impact that she has had on my life will never be forgotten.
Change, whether good or bad, is never easy, at least not for me anyway. I think that these ladies retiring is a good change especially for them. I am truly happy that they are able to move on and do and be what they want for the rest of their lives. For those of us who are staying put, I hope that this change is good for us as well. Only time will tell. One thing I do know is that I am lucky to have experience both of these ladies and will take what I have learned and try to make a difference in this world one child at a time.
