The Hill School Ups and Downs

Stitching, seam after seam, it took her the rest of recess to secure my circle skirt to its top and

restore the dress my mom had made for me

I hadn’t yet learned all the lessons the slippery slide had in store

I knew—through siblings or smarter classmates—that wearing shorts underneath

prepared you for playing

…anything.

I knew but didn’t that day so

now I know that

good as it gets, there is the capability of tearing things in two

It takes a skillful teacher to,

on one hand,

sew–despite it not being in the job description–on this side of the door and

send away sight-seekers (maybe Mike who later left early) standing

on the other.

She made it seem effortless she seamed so smoothly; mending she made all things seem possible.

I learned a lot that day

“Mybeautifuldressbrokeinhalfcausetheslidesherrislidfirstit’sbacktogetheryou

can’tevenseewhereithurtmyfeelingsmomthanks

…toMrs.Boland”

and from skillful schoolteachers before and since

…have hopefully helped others learn some lessons

sliding

now all I need to know is

how to sew

a broken heart