Do you have some friends and colleagues who you admire so greatly and from whom you've learned so much, but when you trace back to the beginnings of the friendship you remember YOU were originally assigned to teach or mentor THEM? Angela is definitely one of those people in my life. A student teacher of mine back in 2004, Angela and I were "assigned" to each other by the University of Calgary. (For all the criticisms people sometimes make of the U of C, they got this one right!)
Originally from PEI, Angela did her first degree in Ontario before following a Boy further West, to then pursue her teaching degree. Just that in itself is so admirable to me - the girl who has never lived more than a 15 minute drive from her parents her whole adult life (and currently the distance is about 4 minutes...). What else is admirable about Angela is her whole, laid back attitude and big picture perspective. She is very much a "whatever-happens-happens" person, who doesn't tend to stress or over-analyze or over-plan but for whom things always seem (to me) to work out. Move West? "I'll get into university there." Get married while staring a career? "No problem." Have our first baby while in my first job? "Someone will hire me again later." Change schools 4 times amidst 3 mat leaves? "See?! Someone WILL hire me again later!" Buy one house, then move to another, then move to yet another? "Well it takes awhile to find our dream location for our now family of 5 young kids (plus two big dogs and a cat.)" Angela has room in her head and her heart for all of it.
Angela is a natural teacher and a natural leader. People in and out of the profession gravitate towards her knowledge and demeanour. She relates to people of all ages and students especially appreciate the respect and equality she affords everyone. She is never condescending nor judgmental. She was wise beyond her years, even ten years ago and so you can imagine how inspiring her points-of-view are now!
Angela and I enjoyed lemonade in her latest (but sounds-permanent) home in Cochrane. Her kids were doing their thing and her husband, Dwayne was doing his. (He is handy, creative and talented in many ways that complement Angela and benefit their family.) I invaded on a "day before we go camping" weekend but she didn't make me feel like I was imposing at all. Our visit was relaxed and encompassed the variety of topics we hadn't caught up on since we last saw each other far too many years ago! As with many of the friends I have been catching up with this year though, it doesn't matter how much time passes between visits.
Angela and I enjoyed lemonade in her latest (but sounds-permanent) home in Cochrane. Her kids were doing their thing and her husband, Dwayne was doing his. (He is handy, creative and talented in many ways that complement Angela and benefit their family.) I invaded on a "day before we go camping" weekend but she didn't make me feel like I was imposing at all. Our visit was relaxed and encompassed the variety of topics we hadn't caught up on since we last saw each other far too many years ago! As with many of the friends I have been catching up with this year though, it doesn't matter how much time passes between visits.
Something about Angela that I DO like to give myself credit for is about her youngest son, Rhys. Knowing they were expecting a boy, they liked the name Reese. I believe I suggested the alternate spelling that they went with. Perhaps several other dozen people did too, but no one needs to tell me that!... As I opened with, other than the spelling of Rhys if I taught her anything ten years ago I'm really not sure, but over the years she has consistently helped me to re-align and re-focus my priorities and has reminded me what simplicity and being in-the-moment looks like. What would our world be like if we all adopted these traits?
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