Upde Designs

Happy Tuesday!

Although the image is of the baby robins, today’s post is a tribute to the most amazing person I have ever met.

Today marks the end of an incredible career of nurturing, compassion, and teaching learning disable children.  For 43 years she has made an incredible difference in the lives of emotionally challenged children and has helped them find their way in a difficult world.

I’m talking about my wife, Jeanne.  I asked her to be my wife after meeting her only 3 weeks earlier.  42 years later we are now starting on a new adventure of retirement together.

Jeanne taught in Missouri for 2 years and then we moved to Waterloo where she taught another 2 years before we settled in Dubuque.  She has the highest seniority level in the entire Dubuque Community School System.  I attended her retirement reception last week and it was a nice event for her but did not really explore her amazing contribution.

On many occasions during the last years when we have been in public together, an adult will come up to her and thank her for how she helped them when they were her student.

There have been many occasions where she has come home in the evening with bruises on her legs from students kicking her and or biting her.  I’ve gone to bed many a night while she was still working on the school work she had brought home.  I’ve seen her so sick that she could hardly put one foot in front of another but still went to work because her kids needed her.

She has taught summer school many years, not because of the additional money but because one of her students needed additional help and she was compelled to give it to them.

Jeanne knew at the age of 6 that she wanted to be a teacher.  If you asked her how much she was being paid she had no idea what her annual salary was.  She knew it once a year when we did our taxes.

On top of all that she was an amazing Mother to our children and now our beautiful grand children have a wonderful opportunity to be with her for many years.

I could go on for many more pages but you get the idea.  The world in a much better place because of her and I thank God every day for letting me share her amazing life.

I think I have also contributed to her career as a test and practice to her patience and compassion for these last 42 years.  🙂

Enjoy your day and be careful.