from the porches: Dear Connie

Dear Connie,

Today was one of the hardest, emotional days I've had for a while,because today our whole community lost you, my friend.

This morning at Rehab I told the Occupational Therapist that I just had to go outside and take photographs of those dead trees. Audrey said, "Oh, you mean the wetlands?" I had no idea there were wetlands in the middle of Gainesville on 39th Street at Shands at Magnolia Park Rehab Center . . .in the middle of those dead trees.

But Connie, I knew one thing. I had to get into nature because that's where YOU would have been. I just couldn't sit on that stupid couch and watch Truett cook Macaroni and Cheese and have the OT say, "You've done GREAT today."

Connie, I must admit I was scared that a snake might slither on my path. Better yet, I was frightened that an alligator my lunge for me; therefore I didn't walk out far into the Rehab wetlands. Mostly, I think if I had a "walking Truett" and a can of mosquito spray, I would have followed the whole path. But I didn't . . . and that's the way it is nowadays, after retirement.

My dear Connie, today I saw a few bits of nature like this bumblebee. However, I really didn't see the bumblebee. I saw you.

I saw you standing on that schoolhouse sink back in 1979 (whatever) making a gorgeous 3-D bulletin board for me of spiders. (What in the world was I thinking?)

But, what I remember most was you straddling the sink on Cluster 3, stuffing a spider so it could be 3-D and I saw that you had stopped and was watching me teach. I asked, "Are you okay? Is there a problem?"

Do you know what you said to me?

You said, "No. I'm just fascinated by your teaching."

And that meant so much to me that an adult would stop their work to watch me teach nine year olds. Thank you, Connie Hudson. That statement carried me on for twenty-five more years. In fact, I LOVED audiences after that because I taught best when I was "ON SHOW!"

Dear Connie, we all miss you. We don't know how to let go.