Page 33 - Demo

Kendallville Mental School27By the time I returned to school, Lynn was frazzled because she%u2019d been handling all my classes, as well as her own. Then she got the flu, and I took over both sets of classes. Then I got the flu again. Then Lynn. By the end of January, we%u2019d used up all our sick days, and then some. But we weren%u2019t always sick. We just needed to be away from the hyperactivity and frantic pace of school. Although we did have the flu at first, Lynn spent some of her time sewing me a sports jacket %u2014 her first major sewing project %u2014 and I caught up on my reading. It wasn%u2019t fair to the school corporation, or our students, but I%u2019m sure we weren%u2019t the first teachers to play hooky.Lynn was actually a much better teacher than I was %u2014 more organized, with detailed lesson plans %u2014 and she was stricter. My classes were wild and barely under control, compared to her calm and orderly sessions. I knew keeping students in line was important, but it just wasn%u2019t in my genes. Growing up, Mom would ask us kids to quiet down and behave, and we%u2019d ignore her, because we knew there was no force behind her words. She sometimes tried spanking, but didn%u2019t have enough strength to inflict any pain. If we really got out-of-line, she%u2019d have Dad spank us when he got home from work. Now, that hurt %u2014 but it wasn%u2019t a regular occurrence, and he really wasn%u2019t much of a disciplinarian either. Lynn%u2019s family was just the opposite. Everything about her childhood was extremely controlled, and slipping out-of-line wasn%u2019t tolerated at all. She and her sister had to be constantly on guard, ready to be keelhauled at the slightest infraction. Even a minor accident deserved a ranting tirade.One Thursday evening, after the flu season had passed, Lynn%u2019s sister, Lee, called to say that their dad was in the hospital, and we had to come up immediately. It was his pancreas, and it was serious. We left after school the next day, and drove straight to Lee%u2019s home, planning to stay in the spare bedroom. When we arrived, it was about seven in the evening, and Lee said they%u2019d been doing some remodeling, and the interior doors had been temporarily removed. Lynn said, %u201cOops, we didn%u2019t bring any pajamas.%u201d Suddenly Lee snapped, %u201cYou mean you sleep in the nude? What a slut.%u201d Lynn was used to such insults coming from her twin sister, but I wasn%u2019t, so I promptly said, %u201cWe didn%u2019t come here to be talked to like that.