A Shout Out to Mrs. Greteman

The second time my dad went to Viet Nam for a twelve month tour, we moved to a closed down Air Force Base in Oklahoma; a place that really did have tumbleweeds and air as thick and hot as sizzling bacon.  It was in that small town during sixth grade that I met my favorite teacher of all time, Mrs. Greteman. She was young, hip, stylish and above all, totally cool. She wore Jackie O style dresses with matching head bands that held back her straight light brown hair.   In spite of the controversy around the war, she was gentle as she coaxed me and my classmates into espousing peace by listening to John Lennon’s lyrics most afternoons during study period.  To this day, when I hear the song Imagine, I think of her and that small class room in Burns Flat, Oklahoma almost forty years ago. 

She was sweet to me recognizing the wounds of a girl who had been raised with eight other siblings and have already lived in seven different countries or states and nine different homes by twelve years of age. She threw a slumber party for my thirteenth birthday at her house.  She also helped each of us pierce our ears, with parental permission of course.  We used wooden clothes pins to numb our ears until she pieced our virgin lobes with a needle, using a cork on the backside to pull it through.  It was all well organized and one of my best birthdays ever.  The sixth child born two days before my sister’s birth date and eight days before Christmas seemed to dampen the festivities each year.  She made my birthday exceptional. 

So this blog today is dedicated to you, Barbara Greteman, where ever you are living on this great continent.  Bless you for touching my life and all those other souls who passed through your classroom.  I think of you often and wish great love and peace for you.  I thank you deeply for reaching out to a girl who was drained from living on the edge of the war and moving from her home every few years. 

My goal in telling you this story is to encourage you to give a shout out to all those mentors, teachers, friends and others who have touched your life and made it better.  It may have been some kind words or sage advice that helped you grow.  It could have been an enduring relationship or one of a fleeting nature.  Say thanks right now, out loud, into the universe.  If you are a writer, compose a note to send or burn on a full moon. Intention of gratitude is all you need.  And one more request, give thanks to our teachers who have touched so many of us in amazing ways.