Legend of a Legacy

The Legacy, Elsie Hege

Working the dough, like she's been doing it forever.

I may have previously coined that title for a Christmas present, but it couldn't be more fitting as a blog title. You might have seen an Instagram/Facebook photo last week promising a blog update "very soon"....well, "very soon" is finally here. Last week, we had a snow make-up day that we actually got to take advantage of. I have been asking my Grandma Hege to teach me how to make her famous (i'm not exaggerating here) egg noodles for a couple of years. We always talked about doing it in the summer and just never got around to it. I am so grateful that we finally made it happen! In order to truly convey how wonderful this was, let me give you a little bit of history

Mom getting schooled on the art of noodle rolling!

My Grandma Hege has always been invincible. She has worked harder than most people her age for her entire life. She married at 18, had 3 babies, sent a son off to war, lost her husband at 40, ran the town license branch, then worked at the county court house in voter registration until she "retired" a few years ago. She will celebrate her 85th birthday next month and just recently had a few health set backs. This fall, she passed out at Walgreens. Somehow, she convinced the staff to let her call her (older!) sister to come pick her up instead of the ambulance. After heading to a heart doctor, she was instructed to wear a heart monitor for 30 days to track her heart activity and told to push the button when she felt symptoms of passing out. During this time, she was not allowed to drive or stay alone so she stayed with her 92 year old sister. She never pushed the button so her doctor didn't find anything "wrong". She is still not allowed to drive and not supposed to stay alone. You try telling a woman who has been living alone for 45 years that she can't stay at her house. We compromised by making her promise she would wear a life alert necklace, but she still can't drive. This has really taken the life out of the Grandma that I have always known to be invincible. She doesn't think she can do anything anymore without the fear of having another "episode". 

When we made noodles last Monday, I saw her come alive. She would say "I'm not sure if I remember how to do this" and then her body would take over and it became mindless. She KNEW what she was doing and I caught a glimpse of my invincible Grandma. We had planned to get started making noodles after Graham went down for a nap, but he really didn't want to miss out on the action. It was beautiful to watch her interact with him and include him in the process. He even surprised us by showing that he could indeed crack an egg, straight on to the table. 

Giving him his own dough to work

I can't quite put in to words what it meant to me to get the chance to make noodles with my Grandma and my mom. She told me she used to wake up at 3:30 am to get a batch of noodles started before she went to work so they would be dried and ready to bag that night. She sold them for $3/bag and always gave more than she sold. I can remember her house being covered in flour while the noodles dried for most of my visits. She's always been such a hard worker. 

Finished Product!

When I called her to tell her that we had gotten 5 bags of noodles out of what we made that day, she was so pleased. I told her I had thought about whipping up a batch this week so I could increase my stash and start to give some to family, but I didn't have enough time. She said, "I think it would work good if I mixed the noodles and you rolled them." Two months ago, she would have told me that she just couldn't do it any more. Now, she wants to help and knows she can. I saw her come alive and I can't wait to do it again. 

Its More Than a Job

I knew I wanted to be a teacher in middle school. At that time I had a really awesome English teacher, Mrs. Lumbley, who made middle school bearable and English fun. I loved her class and wanted to be "just like her" when I became a teacher some day. High School english came along and...woah, people actually enjoyed literature, poems, adverbs, hyperboles, and all kinds of other things I still don't understand?!? I couldn't teach English...it was painful! However, I had a really awesome high school Ag teacher. Her profession combined all of my loves, my passions. She understood and supported my passion for the show cattle industry. No other teacher had ever encouraged me to miss school when given the opportunity to exhibit at national shows, but Ms. Nolting just wanted to hear all about it when I returned. As a high school junior, I lost one of my friends to cancer. It sucked...big time. Ms. Nolting grieved with us, supported us, and became the rock we needed as a whole group. She was more than just our Ag teacher, she was our advisor, mentor, and leader. She still is. 

I started my freshman year at Purdue with no doubt in my mind about teaching, but that didn't last forever. After student teaching I just wasn't sure that "teaching was for me". I couldn't find a teaching job right away and was given the opportunity to work for a hog farm in eastern Indiana. That experience taught me so many valuable lessons. However, the most valuable lesson was that I missed the classroom. 

I've recently read multiple articles about how terrible teaching is right now. How K-12 teachers "can't leave the profession fast enough." I've spent my fair share of lunch in the teacher's lounge complaining about the long hours, the endless paperwork, the thankless job, and the minimal pay. Don't get me wrong...I complain too, but today...Today I am thankful that I was called to this profession and I want to tell you that there are still teachers who love their job. I am one of those. Today, I love my job. 

I'm not here to toot my own horn, because I am so far from perfect it is comical. I'll never be "highly effective" and quite frankly, I don't care to be. I show up to work every single day and do the best that I can do that day. My lessons are not always super engaging, my students complain that "it sucks", and I'm not currently in the running for any awards. However, I received a text message yesterday that reminded me just why I love my job. 

It read: "Hey! Sorry it's so late. I've been meaning to text you all day and just got to it. I wanted to wish you a happy birthday. I hope today was filled with joy. Thank you for being such a great role model, listener, and just all around great person. I miss not being able to have you in class but the year I did have you I will never forget. So thank you for everything and always giving the best advice. You believe in your students when we don't even believe in ourselves and sometimes that means so much. Happy New Year!(:"

This message was among many. I was reminded yesterday, on my birthday, how truly blessed I am. The irony of this message is that it came from one of my former students. I previously taught at a different high school and NEVER felt like I was making a difference. I'm not sharing it with you because I want to brag on myself. I am sharing it with you because when I doubted myself and my abilities, I was giving this student exactly what she needed. Support. Teaching is hard. It is thankless. It requires so much more of my time than my previous office job. I still make pennies compared to some. But, my heart is full and I love my job. 

I hope this stands out as a reminder that, while education has some serious issues, there are still many teachers that love their job. I am so thankful I was called to this profession. 

Where do you find joy in your life?