letters to my class

Dear Humans,

I’ve only worn a tux a few times in my life. Only attended a few funerals. Only been in hospitals holding balloons three or four times. Those are the big moments most of us only experience a few times. But life is mostly made of the small moments that we live over and over.

Today is May Day. Not many people celebrate May Day, but it’s a holiday to mark the coming of spring (among other things). Birds singing, buds swelling, tulips opening. These things happen every year. As such, they’re easy to overlook.

Holidays remind us to stop and look a second time. And remember that the little things that happen over and over again are just as important as the big ones.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

I used to get upset when recipes gave unclear directions. They’d say “cook until done” or “bake until golden brown.” Why couldn’t they just tell me how long it took?

Well, the recipe makers didn’t know my elevation, the pan I was using, how hot my oven actually got, and my skill as a baker. So they expected me to use my reason and experience to figure it out.

Variation is the rule in this world. Where we are and what we’re using matter. We like to think our tools and instruments allow us to be accurate and precise. But they only work when paired with the best tool that’s ever been fashioned–that hunk of grey matter inside our skulls.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Creators,

Ms. K made a 5th Grade Talent Show Flipgrid. Get your mugs on there! It’s scary. It’s intimidating. I know.

Just make something. We need more creators and fewer critics. Don’t waste time worrying if your creation is good enough or if someone else’s is better or if anyone will pay attention to it. They might not. But while they’re doing whatever they’re doing, you’re creating something.

Because living is a creative act. I saw a bird stealing stuff out of my neighbor’s flower planter the other day and then dart away. That bird uses creativity to build her home and protect her young. Unlike the bird, we don’t live inside our own creativity. But, we also totally do.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

The other day as I was looking through plaid shirts in my closet, the light burned out. When I was on the stepladder changing the bulb, I noticed that there were actually two lights in the fixture.

And when I replaced both lights and saw how bright it was, I realized that one of those bulbs had been burned out for a long time. I hadn’t noticed because the other bulb gave enough light to see.

I think we humans are equipped with two bulbs in our fixtures. And sometimes one of those lights might be burned out for a while. But the other light keeps shining and gives enough light to get by until we can get to the store to buy another bulb.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Dreamers,

There’s a virtual talent show coming up. You need to submit your videos by Wednesday. This is a chance for you to follow your dreams of being a star on stage.

When I was a kid I spent most of my time dreaming. What I would be, where I would go. And while those dreams weren’t reality and didn’t become reality, they helped shape my reality in many ways. The power of dreams isn’t only in them coming true.

Dreaming is one of children’s greatest powers. When you become an adult, you’ll mostly dream about making money on real estate transactions. It’s way too soon for that. So don’t stop dreaming yet. As Nathaniel Hawthorn says, “A single dream is more powerful than a thousand realities.”

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

It’s been interesting (and a little gross) to see those pictures of people sneezing and coughing on the news. The ones where they somehow light up the particles that we send flying through the air to see how far they can really go.

So much of our impact on other people is invisible and easy to overlook. We might like to think we’re independent and rational individuals, but we get up in each others’ business in lots and lots of ways.

And it’s more than just spittle. It’s words. It’s actions. It’s a stone dropped in a pond and rippling out. But not in predictable concentric circles. In complex and unpredictable patterns. And yet we’re still responsible for the harm we cause. That’s what it means to live in the world.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

When my daughters get tired, I play Frisbee with myself. I throw the Frisbee up in the air and try to catch it. It’s a little tricky because it comes down at a steep angle. And it comes down fast.

An adult does something and a child emulates. So my older daughter started hucking the disc into the air and trying to catch it. It took her quite a few throws before she got one in the air that she could catch, but when she did…..WHACK! Smacked her right in the forehead.

Don’t believe the lie that all pain is good. Sometimes things just hurt and you don’t learn a thing. But sometimes powerful lessons come with the helpful reminder of ouch.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

I love throwing a Frisbee in the backyard. And one of my goals during this time at home is to teach my daughters how to throw and catch a flying disc.

The thing about throwing a Frisbee is that technique matters more than power. If you try to throw it as hard as you can, it will probably wobble and hit the ground after only a few feet. But if you get the release and spin just right, it will fly straight and true.

Our world often rewards strength and power, but cleverness and technique are also rewarded And, most of all, our society values those who practice something over and over and get really good at. No matter what it is.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

I’ve been making a lot of hard-boiled eggs. I don’t particularly like them, but they’re good for dyeing and hiding.

When you prepare to make hard-boiled eggs, you find out that everyone has their own method for the “best” hard-boiled eggs. Boil them for this long, boil them for that long, shock them in ice water, don’t shock them, steam them, bake them.

But the truth is that a hard-boiled egg is just a hard-boiled egg, and how you get it doesn’t really matter. The method you land on through trial and error, custom, or circumstance is the “best” way to do it.

Now, just never ask someone the “best” way to peel a hard-boiled egg.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

It doesn’t happen very often, but occasionally I’ll get the urge to iron something. I’m not very good at it (especially shirts) but it sure does feels good to use steam to accomplish something.

And if you’re even half-way decent at ironing, you can accomplish a lot. I like to iron handkerchiefs because they’re nice and square. When they come out of the dryer they are a wrinkled mess. But in minutes I have them hot, crisp, and folded in a nice, neat pile.

Most of life is not like ironing. We work and work and work and don’t always see the fruits of our labor. But we have to believe that we’re getting the wrinkles out–one day at a time.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck