Carrie Klingenfus taught the 10th grade English and the humanities blocks. I remember early on going out with her and her friends, the love she always had for her dogs, the adoption of her two kids, hummingbirds at her dad's house, the passing of her mom, and the wild -n- crazy year(s) that led up to my departure. I remember, too, the night she and I realized we'd been played against each other for the empowerment of another. I left in 2007. She left a couple years after. We both LOVED the Brown. We adored the students. We gave all that we had through laughter, stress, tears, anger, frustrations, and joy.
When I did the math I realized that she and I were both in our mid-twenties when we met...not too many years out of a graduate teaching program at the University of Louisville. It also seems that we just met, but her last day of school, "It's Over," began with the first days almost 3 decades ago. So much life since then...so much change....so much teaching....so much wisdom.
I'm so happy she put in the years and even happier that she can finally rest from teenagers for a while. The stories are just too tremendous and only a teacher would know the depth of the work that has been done.
I keep thinking about the fact that I would likely be retired now, too, if I stayed in Kentucky. That also blows my mind, but as I noted, since those short years in Kentucky, another world was created that makes me appreciate the Brown even more.
We were kids teaching kids, Carrie. And you still look exactly the same. I'm applauding your achievements from Connecticut.
