The ranks of retired people added a member in July.  One of the office staff members that I hired during my working years retired, and I was invited to the party, described as a “high tea” for “Her Grace.”

It was wonderful to see so many of the staff and teachers I hired and worked with—still there 12 years later—and it was fun to see that they all enjoy working and celebrating together, just as we did while I was an active part of the team.  I started as a one-woman show, but the Adult Education program grew too large for me to handle alone.  The first person I hired was Jeanette (also retired now), on the left in the photo below.  Her Grace, Sonja, is in the center, and I’m on the right.

The two ladies in the front in the photo below are Lynn and Ellen, who were hired after I retired.  Those in the back row were some of my co-workers:  (L->R) Patty, a lead ESL teacher; Lindsay, a GED teacher (almost invisible behind Lynn); Sonja, an office staff member; Mandy, my second-in-command who took my place; me; and Ingrid, a lead ESL teacher.  By the time we decided we needed a group picture, quite a few people had already left or we’d have a much bigger crowd in the photo.

In keeping with the English tea party theme, the party favors were little cardboard teapots with candy inside.

When I retired, the staff gathered photos of our group from throughout my tenure, wrote a story to go with the photos, and had it all bound into a book titled “A Tale of the Star Kingdom.”  Our AEL (Adult Education & Literacy) program—the “Star Kingdom”—was one of a limited number of the 26 statewide AEL programs that had achieved Star status for excellence.  In the book, I was designated as the Empress.  The current staff made a similar book for Sonja.  In her book, Her Grace, Sonja, was recognized as the Duchess.  Shall I assume that when Mandy retires from the dean’s position that she accepted after my retirement, she will be referred to as an Empress in a similar book?  I hope so.

In addition to the book, invited guests were asked to send stories about their memories of Sonja.  Those stories were put into a binder for Sonja, and each of us who was present read our own story aloud to Sonja and the group.  It was fun to hear all those memories.  Among other things, my story included a trivial but true lesson I learned from Sonja.  It was about candy.  Sonja worked at the front desk and always kept a dish of candy on her desk for visitors.  All of us regularly contributed candy to the dish (it’s not a budget item), and Sonja once told us that:  (1) the more candy there is in the dish, the more pieces individual people take; (2) chocolate disappears very quickly; and (3) nobody likes Dum Dums.

I was still doing PT at Athletico at the time of Sonja’s party, and I couldn’t help noticing that the candy dish on the Athletico counter was filled with Dum Dums.  There was very little difference in the Dum Dum level over my next few visits, so maybe the Athletico staff will learn the same thing I learned from Sonja.

I hope Sonja’s retirement is filled with as much happiness and as many blessings as mine has been.