A Toast to Teachers!

Rocking on my back porch, I’ve been drenched this summer with my garden’s fragrance even as it fights valiantly to keep at bay the Texas humidity. Sipping my dark-roasted coffee and inhaling its aroma, I glance occasionally at the backside of a plump naked woman with wild grey hair who is happily skipping on a white sandy beach. Arms outstretched to the sun rising over the sparking blue ocean water, she epitomizes the caption on my coffee cup -- “Free at last!”

A retirement gift from a thoughtful friend, the grey-haired woman gone wild mug symbolizes the change in my life from the teaching occupation that I once loved to a different season that I also love.  I’m grateful for this season; I was also grateful for the other. Both have been full, spilling over with purpose and friends and joy.

So today, as my former fellow-teachers begin the first day of a new year, I’m toasting them with my wild coffee mug, praying for a fabulous year, not only for them but also for my fellow retirees, and looking forward to seeing God at work in both.