‘Sunshine on my Shoulders’
In “Anecdotal”
I was living in a small town in NSW having left Adelaide with my husband who was taking up a new teaching job in a local primary school. Our three children went to school each day and I found myself asking ‘what on earth am I to do with myself?’ One particular morning the whole family troop, except me, went off on a trip to the snow. Housework did not appeal to my search for fulfilment so I headed to Albury some 45 minutes away.
A short burst of shop therapy may just do the trick – divert the encroaching blues and avoid the unwanted misery of wife discontent. It did neither nor come close to drowning my longing quest for satisfying involvement in life. As I trudged along the long main street a college sign caught my eye. I walked in thinking a nice little TAFE course may at least be a temporary solution.
The receptionist said: Yes, but what sort of course do you really want? I returned: ‘Mmm..no no just show me what courses you have and I’ll choose’. She tried again:’What do you really want?’ This time with emphasis on the ‘really’. I thought: ‘Oh really!’And plunged on with frustration visible: ‘I can’t do what I really want!’ ‘Why not?’ she prodded and out came ‘I’m too old’ (I was in my third decade!) Ignoring this intended blockage she persisted: ‘What is it? What do you really want?’ ‘Hmph! O.K. ‘Well I’ll tell her why!’ thinking I’d stop this nonsensical conversation! ‘I’ve always wanted to be a teacher ever since I felt obliged to leave school to satisfy my Dad’s idea of a satisfying career in a bank. I haven’t done my Senior!’ She would not be daunted! But no. She says: ‘No matter – you just do the adult entry test. This is a teacher college of training.’ I’ll get the papers. Briskly she sorted the details as I blindly followed her lead.
I enrolled mid term. With sheer delight I relished the learning that fitted me so well. My younger learning friends thought I was completely ‘up a tree’ as I soaked in new thought and found the challenge of assignments a treat! I graduated with good grades and leapt into further study and a teaching career that lasted seventeen years.
I did not get her name. I never got to thank her. I simply remember her with a tonne of gratitude. The receptionist who cared enough for the real me, who ignited my thirst for learning and opened a door that I didn’t even recognise was there. The receptionist who believed in seeking our heart’s desires. Because of her I have found it satisfying to encourage others to dare to dream and be who they really are!