by JoAnn Carter
The warm smells of winter cooking filled Carolyn’s modern kitchen. “Nothing like a good pot of black-eyed peas and rice to celebrate New Year’s Eve.” Carolyn rubbed her hands together in anticipation of the meal to come.
Amanda laughed. “I know this is a family tradition for you, but where did it ever come from?”
Placing the big bowl of peas on the table, she said, “It’s a southern dish, and while I don’t actually have any roots there, it was something that was passed down from a friend of my mother’s.” With a reminiscing gleam in her eye, she added, “I’ve had this meal for New Year’s Eve as long as I can remember. It just wouldn’t be the same without it.”
“Hear, hear!” said Amanda as she dug into the rice and put a heaping spoonful on each plate. “So, have you made any New Year’s resolutions for this year?”
Carolyn grinned. “I knew you were going to ask that. Yes, I have, but I’ve decided not to tell you what they are until next year.”
Amanda rested her elbow on the table as she inquired, “Why?”
“Before we go into that, can we say grace?” Carolyn fidgeted with her napkin. “Sitting here with this wonderful aroma is enough to tempt a saint.” Amanda bowed her head in response. “Dear Lord,” Carolyn prayed, “Thank you for this food and for our friendship. May we grow closer to each other in this coming year, but more importantly, may we grow closer in our relationship to You, Father. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
As they dug in, Amanda asked once again, “So, why the secrecy for your resolutions?”
Carolyn put her fork down and said, “Well, it’s like this. Every year I tell you my resolutions, and every year, I never keep them. So, I figured this year I wouldn’t tell you until the end, so if they never come to be, you’d never know.”
Amanda laughed. “Well, I decided not to make any resolutions this year. Instead, I’m making life goals.” Swallowing another bite, she added, “It sounds more palatable. It’s just little steps to a bigger change.”
“Hey, maybe you’ve got something there.” Carolyn nodded in agreement. “The more I think about it, the more I like it.” After a moment’s silence, she asked, “So what changes do you want to make?”
Amanda didn’t even have to think about it as she said, “There are a few things, not in the order of importance, of course, but the first is I want to eat healthier. The second is I want to live a life that would be pleasing to God in all aspects. And the last thing, I want to be more dependent on the Lord and less on myself. Pretty tall order, huh?”
“Yep, but like you said, take small steps and before you know it, you’ll be striding.”
The evening’s celebration went by quickly. After they cleaned up from supper, they pulled out a board game. The girls munched on popcorn and had a nice chat about nothing in particular when suddenly they realized, they had just enough time to flip on the television to watch the ball drop to usher in the New Year.
“Happy New Year, Carolyn!”
“Happy New Year, Amanda!” The girls shouted in chorus.
Turning off the television, Amanda said, “I have a feeling God has something very special in store for us this year.”
Carolyn quickly replied, “I do, too. I feel like my slate is clean. It’s a new year.” She looked up to the ceiling as she prayed, “May we follow wherever You lead.”
“Amen!” Amanda agreed.
The doorbell rang and the girls exchanged puzzled looks. Amanda looked through the peephole and gasped in surprise.
“Who is it?” Carolyn asked joining Amanda.
Amanda threw open the door and was greeted with a vase full of flowers. “Happy New Year!” Grinning behind the bouquet, Tracy announced, “I came to crash the party.”
“Happy New Year to you, too. By all means, come on in.” Amanda invited. “I thought you said you had plans for tonight.”
“I did; it was to surprise you. Did it work?”
“Tracy, you missed the best part...” Carolyn called from the couch, “the food.”
He took his other hand from behind his back and held out the bag. “Well, I hope you’re not too full, because I brought some of the best Chinese food you’ve ever tasted.”
Holding onto her stomach, Amanda said, “Good thing we didn’t make those resolutions, isn’t it, Carolyn?”
Taking the bag from Tracy’s hands, Carolyn added, “Sure is.”
****
“Mom, I honestly think January is one of the most time consuming months of the whole year.” Amanda tucked the phone between her shoulder and ear as she sat down.
“Why is that?”
Amanda looked at the folders spread out on her kitchen table. “This is when all the students in the Special Education Department need to have their Individual Education Plan reviewed and updated. Not to mention the progress reports and new goals for each student which Tracy and I need to write for the rest of the year…”
“That does sound like a lot. Keep it up and you’ll be just like your dad.”
Amanda, knowing she was on her parent’s speakerphone where her dad could hear, laughed. “Even I’m not that busy, Mom!”
“Gee, listening to you two talk, you’d think I was a workaholic or something,” her dad replied.
Mrs. Manning sighed, “Well, sometimes I do wonder about that, dear.”
Amanda returned to the former topic. “What makes it even more difficult is, in the case of all fourth graders, the staff from our school and the middle school needs to meet and look at each student and his or her need.”
“Have you started on that yet?”
“Yes. Tracy and I sat down with the study team to begin the review process of all the fourth graders last week. Mom, for some of these kids, like Joey for instance…it’s so fun to look at the progress he’s made. And, even though this is a lot of work, it’s well worth it.”
“Well, then hang in there. Before you know it, next month will be here.”
“I know. Well, I guess I should get back to work here.”
“Okay, honey. I’ll talk to you again in a few days. Amanda…”
“Hum?”
“Do you ever regret not quitting your job?”
Without hesitation, Amanda said, “No, Mom, and I thank God every day that Carolyn encouraged me to continue.”
“Good, I’m glad. I love you, honey.”
“I love you, too, Mom. Bye.”
****
A new morning dawned and Amanda pushed the alarm button on her clock. She raised her hand and pushed back her curtain. Looking out her window, she saw big fluffy snowflakes drift down in the early morning sky. Sighing, she sat up and got out of bed while thinking about the foot and a half of old snow already plowed into the banks. Amanda walked to the living room and took a good look out the window. An inch or two of new snow covered the ground. She flipped on the radio and proceeded to make a cup of tea. The weather forecast predicted a heavy snowfall. They had already placed a winter storm warning advisory which was in effect through late afternoon. I wonder how the superintendent is going to call today. I hope he decides to cancel school .
Amanda put a call into the school to see if a message had been left on the answering machine. She drummed her fingers on the countertop as she waited. No message. I guess we’re on for today. Better get moving then. It will probably take me a while to get to school .
When she finally made it to the school, one bus had already arrived. Tommy was jumping up and down. “Do you see it? Do you see it?”
You could feel the excitement in the air. “Do you mean the snow?”
“Yes!”
Smiling, she said, “Oh, I do and it’s beautiful when it’s fresh. Don’t you think so?”
Tommy bobbed his head up and down. “Can we go outside?”
Amanda walked over to her desk and put her book bag down behind the chair. “I can’t promise you that, Tommy.” He looked so disappointed that she quickly retracted the statement. “How about if we design snowman out of
cotton balls on some construction paper while we wait for the rest of the class?”
“Sure, that’s a great idea,” he said as he bounded off to the worktable.
Tracy walked in the door, brushing snowflakes off of his coat. “What a crazy day.”
Amanda put her tongue in her cheek so she wouldn’t laugh. “I have the strangest feeling you haven’t even a clue.” She gestured with her head to where Tommy and a few other friends gathered around the construction paper.
“That’s mine.” Tommy yelled.
Grabbing the bag of cotton balls back, Abigail said, “No. It’s mine!”
Tracy walked over and cleared his throat. “Is there a problem here?”
“She…”
“He…”
Tracy held up his hand. “You both know our classroom rules. These things are for everyone to share. Do you think you can do that or shall we find something else to do?”
Abigail looked sheepishly at Tracy. “We’ll share, Mr. Atkins.”
Ruffling up her hair, he smiled and said, “Good job, Abigail.”
Ten minutes later, Amanda decided to start with the morning greeting before she totally lost control of the energized little bodies. “Okay class, I know everyone’s not here yet, but let’s have a seat in our circle.” Amanda turned to Tracy and lowered her voice. “Are you up to the challenge?”
With his eyebrow raised, he looked around at all the children. “I’ll let you know after the day is over.”
Amanda laughed. “That’s about how I’m feeling right now, too.” Taking a deep breath, she clapped her hands three times to get their attention.
About mid-morning, the class phone rang. Tracy answered the phone, and after he hung up, approached Amanda. Softly, he said, “They’re calling an early dismissal.”
Little Abigail overheard the tail-end of what Tracy said. Jumping up and down, she shouted to the class, “We’re going home early…we’re going home early. Hooray!”
Bedlam erupted as Amanda tried to settle everyone down. “Joey,” Amanda put her hand on his shoulder to get his attention. “Would you please go sit down?” Looking at the other students, she said, “We will not discuss this until we have everyone’s attention.” After waiting a few minutes, the room became quiet. Amanda took a deep breath and addressed Tracy. “Now, Mr. Atkins, would you please tell us what the front office said?”
Tracy took a step toward the group of children. “The snow has been falling quicker than the news report had anticipated this morning. The school’s office decided to call the bus garage and have the buses come pick you up. So, what does this all mean? We get to have a snow day after all. The buses will be here in about a half an hour.” Tracy pointed to the supplies, “Until they arrive, I would like you all to draw for us on a piece of paper what you will plan on doing once you get home.”
The children quickly started shuffling papers and grabbing the crayons off the shelf to get busy on their projects. Amanda looked at Tracy. “I’m glad they called the buses in. It looks like it’s getting pretty slick out there in the parking lot.”
Tracy nodded. “I thought the same thing about two hours ago.”
****
Finally, the buses had all been loaded and the classroom cleaned up for the day. Amanda and Tracy walked out to their vehicles together. Tracy opened Amanda’s door for her and asked for her snow scraper. Amanda thankfully handed it out to him as she tried to start her truck. She turned the key in the ignition to no avail. She tried several times, but the truck was not going to budge. Amanda got out of her car. “I can’t get it started, Tracy.”
“Here,” Tracy reached for her keys. “Let me give it a try.” He climbed in and tried with the same results. “I think your battery is dead. How old is it?”
Amanda shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t really know. Do you think you could give it a jump?”
Tracy looked over at his car and then up at the sky. “I could, but why don’t you let me give you a lift home for now. We’ll come back after this snow stops. By the time we dig out both cars and get yours jumped, we could have another few inches at the rate this snow is falling.”
She saw the wisdom of his statement. “Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“I’m certain.”
As they settled into the car, she put her hands up to the heater vents and rubbed them together. “This has been a crazy winter so far. I hope it won’t be getting any worse.”
Tracy grinned, “I’ve been enjoying it. Where I grew up, we didn’t get a snowstorm like this often. Besides, I wouldn’t have had the chance to drive you home if it weren’t for this white stuff.” He glanced at her. “Yep, I could get used to this.”
Amanda blushed. She didn’t know if he was referring to getting used to the snow or getting used to driving her around. I wonder what it would be like… She deliberately dodged her mental musings by trying to find a radio station with decent reception. She finally found one playing the ‘oldies’. The remainder of the ride went quickly as they sang along to the old songs.
All too quickly her house was in sight. “Thanks so much for the lift,” Amanda ventured.
“No problem. I’ll give you a call tomorrow before I swing by to pick you up.”
“Are you sure?” Amanda questioned. “I could always call Carolyn for a ride.”
Tracy quickly answered, “No, that’s okay. If I get here early enough, I can park in front of your car so after school it will be easy to jump your battery.” Looking around again, he said, “That is, if we have school.”
“Sounds like a plan to me. You sure you don’t mind?”
“I wouldn’t be offering if I did.”
Amanda reached for the door handle. “I know this may seem old-fashioned, but would you give me a call when you get home so I know you got there safely?”
Tracy laughed. “I’ll give you a ring. Thanks for caring. I’ll take it nice and easy.” As she slid out of the car, he said, “Would you like me to see you to the door?”
Amanda waved him away. “No, I’ll be fine. Thanks.”
Tracy waited until she unlocked her door. He rolled down the passenger window and called out, “Bye.”
Amanda waved from her front door and watched him drive away. She offered up a quick prayer. “Lord, please give him safe traveling mercies. And safety to this heart of mine!”
Teacher's Plans
Teacher's Plans
Chapter Nine
February
Amanda and Carolyn sat in the teachers’ break room for lunch, sipping cups of coffee. Carolyn looked up from the magazine she had been flipping through. “So, what do you think about the activity Ed is planning for the college and career group?”
Amanda glanced at her friend before looking back down at the paper she had been reading. She shrugged, “Well, I know he’s been working on it and talking it up since Christmas so I think he’ll have a good turnout.”
Carolyn took the newspaper out of Amanda’s hand. “You’re not answering my question.” Amanda went to take her newspaper back as Tracy entered the room. Carolyn signaled for him to join them. Raising her voice so he could hear her from the doorway, she said, “I’m trying to drag out of Amanda what she thinks about our college and career group activity at the Church for Valentine’s Day, but I’m not getting too far.”
Tracy took the seat Carolyn had offered. “Are you planning on going, Amanda?”
Carolyn cut her off. “Of course, she’s going. We haven’t missed one since we’ve been out of college.”
“Well, there you have it.” Amanda shrugged her shoulder. “Tradition mandates.”
“I can’t wait. I think it’s a fantastic idea.” Carolyn said in an excited voice. “The only place I’ve ever heard of ‘Box Socials’ was in reading one of those old prairie novels.”
Tracy’s eyes sparkled like a little boy’s. “Well, if nothing else, I heard all the proceeds go to our Church’s missionaries. I thought that was a great way to involve our Colle
ge and Career Group in missions.”
Carolyn swatted his shoulder. “Oh come on, you two. Sure, raising money for the missionaries is great, but you are missing out on the best part. Where is your sense of romance? I love the suspense of it.” The class bell rang. Carolyn grabbed her gear and pitched her coffee cup in the trash. Walking toward the door, she called over her shoulder, “Two bumps on a log, are what you guys act like sometimes.”
Tracy chuckled “I was looking forward to her response.”
“I could tell that from the look on your face. Sometimes you’re such a tease.”