The Gift of Perspective

Phil rushes through the house as he searches for his wallet and keys. It’s his first week of retirement after thirty years of teaching French in the nearby high school and he’s struggling to acclimate to his new schedule. He isn’t used to having the ability to go to the theater on a weekday and now he’s about to miss his bus into the city. As he finishes tying his shoes, he shouts goodbye to his cat and slams the door.

Phil is out of breath as he rounds the corner, running towards the bus stop. “WAIT!” he shouts as the bus drives off without him. “Great, now I’m going to miss the first act of the play.”

He takes a seat on the bench at the bus stop—slumping down and sighing with frustration. “This retirement thing is going to be hard,” he thinks to himself. Phil loves having free time, but not nearly as much as he loved teaching. Every day of teaching brought him a sense of purpose, but now he feels lost. He doesn’t even enjoy live theater, but he was told that it could be a fun way to kill time. That decision now felt ill-advised.

The next bus arrives and, as he climbs aboard, he notices there are almost no seats left. He walks to the back of the bus, thankful to find one last seat with an unexpected surprise. “Mr. Johnson?” Chrissy—an old student of his—questions as he takes his seat.

“Wow, Chrissy? What a nice surprise! How are you?” Phil asks.

“I’m well. Very well, actually. I can’t believe I ran into you, this is perfect! I have great news to share with you.” A smile fills Chrissy’s face as she speaks. “I loved your class so much when I was a kid, during my college years I transferred to a university in France and lived there for 10 years. I continued to study French while I was there and even became a French teacher.”

“Chrissy, that is incredible!” Phil shouts with excitement. He always knew his students enjoyed his classes, but he never knew any of them enjoyed it to this extent.

“I couldn’t have done it without you Mr. Johnson!” Chrissy said.

“Please, call me Phil. I haven’t been your teacher in fifteen years.” He pauses for a moment, “well, actually I’m not a teacher at all anymore. I retired last week.”

“Congratulations, Phil! After so many years of being the greatest teacher at Strikers High School, you deserve to relax now,” she smiled at him warmly.

Phil doesn’t respond, he takes a moment to reflect and think about her words. Was she right? Did he finally deserve to slow down and enjoy life on his own terms?

“Well, this is my stop,” Chrissy says as she stands up. “I really am so thankful for everything. I hope your retirement is as incredible as it deserves to be.”

Phil smiles, “thank you Chrissy, that means a lot to me.”

Now that Chrissy has left, Phil is left sitting in silence. His mind is racing as he thinks of every one of his former students wondering where they are now. Phil was worried that his life wouldn’t have meaning now that he isn’t teaching every day the way he once was, but Chrissy had just given him the best retirement gift anyone could possibly offer—perspective. His career has touched the hearts of many students over the years and, while he may not be teaching anymore, knowing that even just one of those students was continuing his legacy gave him the reassurance he needed to finally let go and enjoy his retirement.

After all, Chrissy was right. Phil has earned this.