Today I was catapulted back to my days in the classroom.

For the teachers who are reading this post you will understand when I talk about the “buzz of the classroom”. For me, that buzz happened (amongst other times) when you finally saw the dawning of understanding on a young person’s face.

It could be the simplest of concepts that I had explained in 20 different ways to a child who was just not getting it. That was the challenge – to understand their non-understanding.

Many times I would think to myself “ok, this is just like me trying to understand the diagrams when trying to build something” – they make no sense whatsoever in any shape or form – ever. I could then have total empathy for the child not understanding what to me, and sometimes the rest of the class, seemed like a straightforward concept.

In Dreamcatchers a couple of guests had suggested they would like a small table to eat or play games on. We duly ordered 2 little tables for each cabin. They arrived yesterday and I watched Claire, in minutes, build (put the legs on) 6 of them. There were 2 screws, 2 washers and 2 things the screws went into and an alan key. Simple!

Today I decided I would “build” the last 4 tables. I was determined not to get them wrong. I am still suffering the humiliation of our laundry stacking baskets having wheels facing the ceiling and not the floor. NOWHERE on the instructions did it say to me that you had to check which end to hammer in the casters as, if you did it on the wrong end, the baskets would not fit! Of course, because the casters had to hammered in, it was not a rectifiable error and the basket unit looks great with casters on top!

I cannot tell you how complicated 2 screws, 2 receiver bits and 2 washers can be. The legs were this way and that way, which side does the flat bit of the washer face, do you screw from the screw side or the receiver side ……. you get the drift.

After, without exaggerating, about 20 mins I had completed the first one! Success – it even worked.

During my 20 minutes of torture I was transported back to my teaching days and remembered so many “characters” I had the privilege to spend time with during my teaching career. I felt a great nostalgia for the laughs, tears, tantrums and special moments I experienced during the 30 plus years I spent in school. Nostalgia remembers all the great times so it is a lovely place to be.

In the words (again, I love him) of Dr Seuss:”Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it become a memory”.

Treasure the moments and have a great day. x