The Walk To Work

A funny thing happened the other night when I walking from my car to the community college where I teach two evenings a week. When it is cold, I park in the casino parking lot that is about a half block from the college and risk paying $2 if the attendent is still on duty when I leave, just to prevent walking a block in the cold. I park on the fourth floor, walk down the stairs, cross the river (the bridge is enclosed which provides warmth for most of the walk), cross two streets and I am in the building. As I was happily walking across the bridge, a couple of gals that work at the casino passed me walking the opposite direction. I thought, "Wow! I would hate to have to do this walk every time I went to work." Here's the funny part - it then dawned on me that I was in fact doing this walk every time I went to work! :)

It occurred to me then that when I am going to work, it doesn't feel like work. It feels like I am going to meet friends. Although I have been teaching adults for almost seven years now, I have not identified myself as a teacher since I stopped teaching kids in the public schools ten years ago. When I enter the classroom, I feel very relaxed. As my students enter the classroom, I am glad to see each one of them. Sometimes they share their day with me and sometimes they just smile quietly. As class progresses, we laugh a lot and we share a lot about ourselves. I feel lucky to know that work is a fun and relaxing place for me. A place that feels more like I am just hanging out with friends while getting paid!