teacher

Very early on, Elizabeth, Liz as we all call her, displayed a determination that not every child has. She had decided that she was going places, and she set out to go there. Liz studied hard and began weighing her options, deciding what she wanted to do with her life.

She set her sights on teaching English, but her counselor said that she would do better in Journalism, so she got a Journalism degree, but her heart was still in the classroom. So, she continued on another year to get her degree in education, and returned to Casper to begin her career. Her skills would land her the jobs of the school newspaper, the annual, and photographing most events. Her work was flawless.

Her students loved her, and quickly gave her the nickname Mast. The end of their high school days would not mean the end of their friendship with their beloved teacher. They invited her on trips to Vegas and Europe. They wanted to stay connected to the treasured teacher who had become not only an inspiration to them during their high school days, but a lifelong friend. How many of us can say that after high school, we wanted to stay friends with our teachers. Even the teachers we liked faded into the distance as we left the walls of high school behind, but not so with Liz…or Mast. I see the comments her past students make to her on Facebook, and hear the love in their voices when she runs into one of them in town. A student sees her and excitedly yells out, “Mast!!” Then the chatter begins. “Guess what I did!!” “You would be so proud of me…I did this.” “I’m going to this school.” And so on. I have to say that it makes me proud to be her aunt when these young adults, whose lives she has helped to shape, excitedly gather around the teacher whose class they loved, and tell her about their future plans. The want her to be a part of it. After all, she helped start it.

Of course, being a teacher isn’t all Liz is about. She is Aunt Liz to her sisters’ and brother’s children, and they love her dearly…no matter how old they get. They love being around her, as do her cousins, and her aunts, uncles, and grandmother…not to mention her mom and sisters and brother and their families. Liz is a fun person to be around. Not everyone has that ability. She is a very special part of this family.

And last, but certainly not least, is her ability to photograph the moments of life. She captures the essence of the moment better than so many people could ever do. Her pictures are stunning, funny, beautiful, exciting, sad, goofy, or shocked, depending on what is going on at that moment. She has documented some of the most important moments in the lives of family and friends, and given them the memories that they couldn’t have had any other way…because she does it with love. No matter who she is photographing, she thinks about what they will want to remember about the moment, and gives them just that.

There is so much more I could say about Liz, but anyone who knows her, already knows these things. She has made her mark on this place, and it will never be the same again, because she left each moment better than she found it. And because of who she is, she will keep doing that for the next students, and for the family too. I love you Liz, and I’m very proud of all you have accomplished!!

My niece Michelle is currently in college studying to become an art teacher. Sometimes, when you think about the abilities of the younger generation, you find yourself thinking, “What talents do they have?” and “What will they become?” And you allow yourself to go along thinking of them as kids, probably a lot longer than you should. Michelle is just about done with her studies, and while I have seen her work before, every time I see it, I am in awe of her artistic abilities. Her art is truly amazing!

She has the ability to do a wide variety of art types, and in my opinion, she should get a website to show her art to the world. I suppose that will come in time…when her studies are done, and between grading papers and planning classes, and living life…hmm, I might have to push her on that one a little. Michelle has never been the type to “blow her own horn” and in fact, has always been rather quiet about that sort of thing. Maybe that is why I was so surprised when she told me what she wanted to do with her life.

Michelle has always been a very sweet and loving person…a trait to be proud of. It is her sweet spirit that has taken her to the places she has gone with her life. I suppose it is also that spirit, that essence of who she is that has brought out the artistic abilities that she most certainly has. I wish I could show you more of her work here, but there isn’t room, so I will show you the one that first took my breath away with its perfect lines, and real life form. I was like looking at the real thing, only black and white. I don’t understand how she is able to get the depth to it, but I guess that is the difference between Michelle’s artistic mind, and my…well, definitely not artistic mind. You really don’t want to see what I could draw, unless you wanted a good laugh.

One might expect that Michelle, being an artist would be living in a bit of a dream world, but she is an intelligent person with a great sense of humor. She, along with her cousins, sister, and brother, keep those around them in stitches much of the time, but all are very sweet people who have grown into wonderful adults.

I think Michelle will make a wonderful teacher. She is very dedicated to her work, and when she talks about teaching and art, her eyes just light up. You can always tell when someone loves their work. I also think her students will be very blessed to have such a wonderful, dedicated, and fun loving teacher. I see a wonderful future ahead of her, and I am very excited for her, and very proud of her.

When I was a girl, the only kids who ate their lunch at school were the ones who rode the bus from the country, and the ones whose mothers worked. A working mother was more of a rarity in my grade school years. Moms back then made their children’s clothing, canned vegetables and fruits, made jams and jellies, went to PTA meetings, worked as room mothers, and helped with homework.

I remember the bell ringing at lunch, and running out the doors of the school and off to the house. Mom would have soup and sandwiches waiting for us. My favorites were Chicken Noodle soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, and Cream of Mushroom soup with toast. Yummy!! At that time, I was sometimes jealous of the kids that got to eat their lunch at school, but when I went to junior high and had to eat my lunch at school every day, I sometimes missed those days when I could run home and Mom would have our lunch waiting for us. Funny how you don’t really know what you have until it’s gone.

Bob’s family lived right across the street from the school during his early grade school years, so his experiences were similar to mine, and for him it was kind of cool on track day, because his mom could watch the meet right from her yard. My cousin, Greg, who was a friend of Bob’s back then, remembers her cheering them on from the yard. It was a memory of her that he mentioned to me just recently. Bob’s family would later move to the country and he would become one of the kids who got to eat lunch at school. I’m not sure which one of us got the better deal…I have to lean toward me.

Yes, things were different when I was a kid. Moms had the ability to be much more involved in their kids young years. It kind of makes me sad for the kids today whose mom’s have to work, but I guess that if it’s something you never had, it’s easier not to miss it. I don’t say that those were better times, but while we maybe had less “things” in our lives, we were so blessed in so many other ways.

Our definition of motherhood has changed through the years, but moms really haven’t. Even if they have to work, moms do their best to be a positive influence in their children’s lives. The love and nurture. They discipline and scold. They teach and they even learn from their kids. They wipe our tears and kiss our wounds. They wear so many hats. Sometimes I think that they have more skills that any other occupation, and yet they often receive the least amount of thanks. So today I want to take a moment to thank my mom and my mother-in-law for raise Bob and me up to be the people we turned out to be. We couldn’t have done it without you. We love you Mom!!

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