Thank You Sue

After winding all the bobbins and threading fresh spools of thread through the sewing machines at Bishop Gibbons yesterday, I thanked Sue.

Then she thanked me.

But I really felt like she was the one doing something for me.  From the first time I met her, Sue invited me into the classroom.  That summer four or five years ago, I felt as comfortable being there as the kids who chose to show up at  Bishop Maginn when they didn’t have to.

School was never an easy place for me.  I didn’t have a lot of friends, sometimes none at all, but I always found a safe place in the art rooms and libraries.

I think that’s what Sue’s classroom at Bishop Maginn reminded me of.   But it was also Sue.  Not only how well we got along, but the way she is with the kids.  Loving with good boundaries is how I think of it.

Yesterday Jon and I dropped off vegetable plants that were donated to Bishop Gibbons.  Sue will start a garden at the new school just as she did at Bishop Maginn. I also brought some of the fabric that DawnMarie and Linda sent to me for the Lap Quilt Project.

As I sat at the sewing machines making sure they were working, it seemed a bit of a miracle that I’d be able to work with students who wanted to learn to sew.  I’ve found that this kind of teaching, like at The Mansion, is just right for me.

A small group of people who show up when they can and who want to be there. People who want to learn what I have to offer them.  Not many high school classrooms or assisted living facilities would be open to me in this way.

But it somehow works out well for all of us and Sue has so much to do with making that happen.

Which is why I feel like I’m the one who should be saying thank you.