To the editor:
My amazing mom has officially retired after working practically since her early teenage years. She has always and will always be someone I look up to, someone I admire for their strength, courage, compassion, character and genuine beautiful soul, inside and out. She is my touchstone. I couldn’t be any prouder to call her my mom.
Her retirement comes with many mixed emotions. Her immense love for shaping and molding young students’ lives has been a driving force for her. She will miss it greatly, and I know her students and friend will miss her too!
The following letter is her official resignation and I thought it needed to be shared.
Thank you to all the teachers, staff, students and friends that have been a part of my mom’s amazing career. And, if you know her, you’ll know what I mean when I say: “Always remember your 3 B’s!!”
“To My Helmsburg School Family,
“To paraphrase one of my favorite songs, it’s been a long and winding road, and I’m at the door.
“Having served for 22 years as a civilian with the Indiana State Police, almost 10 years as a civilian with the Brown County Sheriff’s Department and now currently working in my 4th decade (!!) as a volunteer and then a paraprofessional in special education with the Brown County school corporation (not to mention countless odd jobs before my state police career began), it’s time to open that door. I’m retiring.
“It should have been an easy decision at this point in my life, but in the beginning, it wasn’t. To walk away from a job and a working environment you dearly love, where you feel you’re not just making a paycheck, but making a difference, is a very difficult thing to do. I will cherish so many memories made through the years from the embrace of co-workers, precious students and the families of those students. Beginning at Sprunica, to the high school, to the alternative school, and lastly to Helmsburg, it’s been an amazing journey within the Brown County school corporation. And what a full circle my career has been! I never imagined that my precious babies at Sprunica would one day be my students in high school, and then that their children would become my students at Helmsburg!
“Every workplace has been a blessing, but the thought of leaving my incredible Helmsburg family of staff and students is crushing. So why retire?
“I made a half-hearted promise to my family that I would retire at age 65 (I’m fast approaching 73!) but each year I broke that promise because I truly love working at Helmsburg. When this surreal pandemic exploded, my family’s loving, caring ‘retirement reminders’ only intensified.
“Covid-19 is not the entire reason, but it did impact my decision. High-risk issues aside, these past few months of near-isolation provided an opportunity to really reflect on my life, to ponder my future, and to experience what has been put aside for so long: “me time,” and that part was wonderful! I have books to finish writing and a Christian blog to develop. There are new places to visit and old friends to reconnect with. I have favorite haunts to revisi and new memories to make. I’ve found forgotten recipes to try and at least a dozen scrapbook journals that beg completion. I have volunteering to offer and flea markets to find. And once in a great while, with a cup of tea in hand and a good book at my side, I’ll revel staying in bed past 8 a.m. on a Monday morning — a guilty but glorious little pleasure!
“To every staff who welcomed me to their school, to every student who crowded into my heart, to every parent and guardian who trusted me to be a small part of their child’s life, thank you from the bottom of my heart for blessing me with yours.
“One of my daily devotions a few weeks ago was about making decisions. The reader was asked to think about the following: “Do you make decisions out of fear or faith?” That simple question brought such peace to me. I chose faith.
“God is so good, and I’m looking forward to the long and winding road He has planned for me ahead. Yes, it is time to open that door.
Sincerely, Georgeanna Slaybaugh
Kelly Buddridge, Brown County
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