Lasting Legacy

I got a call from my mom last week telling me that my Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Abegglen had passed away. Though it’s been decades, my mind went instantly to the classroom – brightly colored, toys on the low shelves to the left, the communal kitchen on the right and all of our little tables in the middle. Mrs. Abegglen was a wonderful teacher who taught me to wait my turn (over-eager during show-and-tell), taught me that adults can still hear me when I’m not shouting (see above) and taught me not to touch things that don’t belong to me (a swift swat on the bottom – lesson learned).

Mrs. Abegglen also guided me through my first kiss. Apparently, chasing boys, throwing them to the ground and kissing them was not appropriate behavior (still isn’t, turns out). My mom tells the story of receiving a phone call at home requesting that they talk to me about taking it easy during recess. Who knew?

But most importantly, Mrs. Abegglen’s legacy lives on every time I open my mouth to sing. As I sat on the floor, crossed-legged during singing time, Mrs. Abegglen was observant enough to notice that I loved it. She noticed that I knew all of the words to all of the songs, and sang my heart out. She told my mom to put me in singing, “She’s a little songbird.”

Thank you Mrs. Abegglen for seeing that in me. You’ve given me immeasurable joy throughout the years simply because you cared enough to notice, and cared enough to tell my parents. I’m sure many of your students would have similar stories. I was lucky to have you as a teacher and to this day and 2 college degrees later, you are still one of the most memorable.