teaching burgers

1 May, 2012: In a lot of ways, being a music teacher is a lot like being a short order cook with a grill full of burgers. The students are the patties, sizzling away- each one with various needs and wants. At any given time a burger is on the brink of being overcooked and if you're lucky you'll have flipped it just in time. There's a lot of pressure and the stakes are often high. (steaks?)

This time of the year is terrible for a cook like me. Seniors are busy tying up all sorts of loose ends in order to graduate, spring sports teams are traveling, others head off on early vacations and those of us who are left are antsy for the freedom of summer. It's disastrous. As we creep into May, I always hope to keep up the momentum we've established from a year in full force but sometimes it's best to just let the burgers be burgers. 

 I'll be especially sad to scrape the grill this year as I've grown close to these burgers. I've helped to mold them into the patties that they are. I covered them in ketchup and even topped a couple of them with onions and mushrooms. And now the waitress is on her way to deliver them to booth 4 (the older man with the wispy mustache and yellow eyes). For the rooted teacher, there will always be fresh patties to replace the cooked. But for now, I must pass the spatula onto another as I head onto something else for awhile. Flip with care.