Daydreaming My Way

Elementary school was downright boring. It was boring having to sit in a chair for a long time and I wasn't used to that.  In the early grade, I was always squirming, wiggling and moving about in my small classroom chair.  One wall in our classroom had ceiling to almost floor windows. The windows stopped about three feet from the floor.  There were radiators there and a ledge upon which to sit.  I loved sitting there.

My daydreaming began in second grade.  Often my teacher would ask me not to daydream.  How could I stop?  There were so many adventures yet to enjoy.   I did enjoy when the teacher told us to put our heads on the desk for a rest. That was my permission to take another mental adventure and I sure did.  Often it would be on a balloon floating over the playground, playing in the woods near our home, or helping a sick friend, or cuddling a puppy.  Everything about being connected to living things,  or nature fascinated me.

  

Most of the time, I looked out the window.  I imagined myself a Walter Mitty kind of person.  If you haven't read the Secret Life of Walter Mitty, you must. We read this in fourth grade and the story would be a major theme in my life. Everything about him resonated with me.  I wanted a life like his; one of adventure, exploration, trying lots of things.  Walter Mitty was an adventurer, a hero, a dreamer like me.

My fourth grade teacher was my favorite one.  She was kind, interested in her students and a friend of my Mother. She let us daydream and be who we are. She took us to a higher level.  It was one of my best academic years and it was largely because of Mrs. Katzen.  I think of her always.

Who we are begins early.  For my it was and would always be dreaming my way through life.