,

It's Sunday, just about 6:30 pm. And, I'm in awe. You see, I just realized that I'm doing it again. I am going all in.

Spoiler alert: I'm gonna ask you to put it in two sentences.

I will ask you to look at you in the mirror but pretend you're lookin' out a window. Then, I want you to put your "because of" and "so that" in two sentences.

Ok, here's what I mean about "all in." As I start writing this, the clock on my computer (and my phone, and my watch) all said 1756. What do I think?

"It's almost 6."

I'm all in... You see, most of the folks I work with work with a 24 hour clock; sure, some don't and that's good. But, most... do. It reminds me...

For some reason, last week I dreamt in Spanish. I can see it as clear as the words landing on the screen right now. I was traveling, in a jeep, with friends. We were driving through a city; sitting at a table eating dinner; walking along the waves crashing. I'm sure it was Costa Rica, and all of it was in Spanish.

So, when I got a Facebook message today, I about burst into tears as I read the words. You see, in my former life, I was a teacher. Somehow, the universe conspired in 1996 to move me from Santa Barbara to Ojai, CA. Hmmmmm.

I was hired to teach high school... Spanish 1, Spanish 2, World History, and World Culture. Looking back on it today, it's hard to to imagine the conversation that happened before the leaders there offered me the job, "Yeah, let's give the 24-year-old four preps and 170 students a day. We'll see what happens."

Each day for the next four years, I arrived at Nordhoff earlier than most, and Jodi would tell you I drove way later than most.

If there was an ask, I said yes.

When there was a need, I was there to fill it.

This was before...

...before Columbine, before 9/11, before the Great Recession, before January 6th. In my mind, I want to believe it was a different time; however, I'm smart enough to know I didn't know enough. While a part of me wants to think that things were "better" then, another part of me knows that things were "different" then.

If ya wanna get inside my brain, please spend the next 15 minutes watching George Takei's TED talk. I will be honest, that one DID bring me to tears.

You see, America - in MY mind, to ME - was different in 1998. That was a time when I could close my door look out at my students and tell them why I was there. It was ok and valuable to share both my "because of" and my "so that"

You see, I didn't think I was going to teach students how to think like a historian. I never imagined them leaving being able to speak Spanish. For example, my goal for teaching Spanish was the same all those years. From the moment the students walked in, I only spoke Spanish. It didn't matter if they were freshmen taking Spanish 1 or seniors repeating Spanish 2.

My goal? It went something like this:

Espero q' cuando terminen con esta clase ustedes quieren visitar a unos paises hispanohablantes. Es posible que no podrían hablar con fluencia conmigo, pero si crecen un amor de idiomas, yo voy a sentir bien.

(You can copy and paste that into Google translate; I tested it!)

So, when Rae sent me this message, I realized - some 23 years later - that I had achieved my goal. 

You see, when I show up, I go all in. And, though I might be the new guy, and didn't grow up speaking your language, I will do all I can to meet you there.

So, now that it's 1845, I'll click send on this email.

But, before I go, I'll ask you two questions...

What's your "Because of?"

What's your "So that?"

Hit reply, let me know!

JW

PS: The rest of that Facebook message?