Mrs. Reedy

As I walked down the blue and white hall I felt anxious-even though I had
no idea what that word meant. My father turned to the left and realized “This was my first grade classroom when I went to Bayou View!” Although that made me feel slightly more at ease, I was still nervous. Was it too late to run back to Pascagoula to Nicole and Lane and Bobby and Daniel? What if the other kids here didn’t like me? I was never a shy child, but today I felt like I was in someone else’s life. Like a movie maybe. It was so surreal. I took a deep breath and stepped through the door. Bright, happy, educational colors of red, yellow, and blue covered every inch of the room. As I admired the bookshelves lining the back of the classroom that overflowed with stories, my mother nudged me and said “Tell your teacher your name sweetheart.” I turned and my eyes met an older woman’s gaze. She was by far one of the nicest looking people I had ever laid eyes on. After going through the “we just moved here from ‘Goula” process, her knowing eyes looked to me. “My name is Mrs. Reedy and I will be your new first grade teacher.” Her voice was so pleasant to my ears, the butterflies in my stomach flew to the playground outside the window. As I took my seat, I realized that no one knew that I wasn’t from around here. Most of the kids in my class had gone to different kindergardens, and Mrs. Reedy quickly took advantage of that by playing games with us.


Now as I wander down those shrunken halls, I feel a deep ache in my
heart. I know I was only in fourth grade when she moved away, but there must have
been some way to keep in touch with her. She was the first person outside of my family who saw potential in me. She believed in me and always encouraged me to push myself just a little bit harder than I thought I could manage. “When you feel like you’ve reached your max, try even harder,” she would say, “110% is always better than 100%.”

I haven’t been back to that classroom since she moved to North Carolina. I wanted to always remember it the way she had it. It was so perfect that way. The room almost seemed to reflect her. Even though she may have forgotten me in the sea of students that have come through her door, I know there will always be a special place in my heart for Mrs. Charlotte Reedy, my educator and best friend.