I don’t use snail mail very often; but there was a time when that’s all there was if you needed to communicate with someone far away. The phone was expensive and sending a letter was the cheapest way to go. There were skills required (many lost to current technology and the keyboard) and you needed these skills to send a letter. You needed penmanship, the knowledge of how to properly address a letter, and how to fit an 8 1/2 x 11 inch sheet of paper into a much smaller envelope that didn’t allow you to simply fold the paper into thirds so it would fit- it doesn’t.

Mrs. Obsitnik was my second grade teacher, and as I think about her class, the memories are pretty clear. She taught us about geology (hence my interest in nature- particularly rocks), simple math (simple now, not so much back then), penmanship ( I think she would be appalled at my current penmanship abilities), and some life skills.

Mrs. Obsitnik was a tall, older lady, probably about 50 with silver hair. She could have been Barbara Bush’s sister. She made it so I didn’t hate school. She was my teacher when JFK was shot and spent a whole day talking with us and gently explaining what happened and even prayed with us (we could do that back then). She was tough; but had a way to make us all feel— safe. She handled playground disputes with the wisdom of Solomon. I really believe she loved us all.

I vividly remember one day when we were learning how to compose a letter, address an envelope, and send it. When it came time to fold the paper to get into the envelope, most of us had difficulty getting it right. When one of us said “this is impossible” Mrs. Obsitnik stopped us all, and said “Nothing is impossible until it is proven impossible”. WOW. That statement has stayed with me for over 50 years. Then, in her usual patient manner, she sat us down and showed us the trick to folding a piece of paper and getting it into an envelope. She guaranteed it would work every time with no guesswork. She was right. Now, every time I fold a piece of paper to put into an envelope, I think of Mrs. Obsitnik, my second grade teacher.

Teachers take on the awesome responsibility and have the opportunity to change the world- one young mind at a time. I admire those of you who have had the courage to take up the call, and I thank you for the gift you are giving to us all. Mrs. Obsitnik would be proud of you…

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My workout today. Since I’m in the “off-season” so to speak, many of my workouts include a strength training component:
5 minutes of dynamic stretching and foam rolling (if you have a foam roller)
run two miles and targeted 5k Pace (8:30/mile)
repeat the following for 3 rounds:
30 Burpees
30 Pushups
30 mountain climbers
30 crunches
30 jump squats
30 pushups (hand in)
30 forward lunges
30 side (lateral) lunges
30 bench dips
cooldown with a 1 mile jog and light stretches