The Best of 2024
By Kevin Fitzpatrick
Contributor
I guess when you get to a certain age and realize that you have a whole lot more yesterdays than you do promised tomorrows, the tendency is to spend some time looking back. The move to Bluffton around three and a half years back, almost a thousand miles away from family and friends, certainly adds to taking time to reflect, maybe more than in the past. For many years it would be a matter of sitting together, sipping, sharing meals and “talking story” about what has gone on during the last 12 months. While we still do that via phone, FaceTime and Zoom (yes, we do still use that with those folks who do not have the requisite iPhone to do FaceTime), I thought I’d take the time to put my thoughts in writing as well so indulge me for a few lines if you will.
First off, one of the highlights of 2024 for me was being given the opportunity to contribute an ongoing piece to The Bluffton Sun. I spent over four and a half decades professionally teaching mathematics at all levels from middle school through college, and if that taught me anything, it was how valuable it was being able to take the droll rote of mathematical procedures that were (and still are) part of algebra, geometry, trig, calculus et al, and make them come alive by turning them into stories. My goal at every level was to connect the facts and processes to events both past and present, and to constantly look to prevent the question being asked “why do we need to learn this?” by providing that very rationale as part of the exposition. Moving to keep it alive during both the rising and falling actions, and then hoping that the students find that “A HA” moment during the denouement, and always trying to leave the class with the promise of something more to come the next time. Sometimes this took days, sometimes entire semesters, sometimes the connections were not fully relevant until two or three courses later. The better I was able to do that, the more interest there was in moving the “endpoint” of the required courses to where it became desirable to take more higher-level electives. More often than not, I succeeded. Sometime, there was dramatic failure. Each year at the end of the class, from the beginning of my time in the classroom and something I “borrowed” from someone I learned a lot from, I asked each student to write me a confidential essay being as pointed and direct as possible. The essay reflected what they wish they had known before taking the class, what was good, what they wish had been different and what was flat out terrible. I stressed that I would not read them until school was out and that they were helping shape what I would do in subsequent classes, not just in the course they had taken but throughout what I was doing. For all those years, the overwhelming majority of the essays were heartfelt, thoughtful and incredibly formative for me. I think it was there that I really learned to appreciate that a personal connection, coupled with honesty, compassion, and yes, a good handle on the subject being taught made for a year whereas much was learned from my side of the desk as was learned on the other side. I hope some of these lessons learned from teenagers and young adults continue to shape the pieces I submit that remain a joyful experience for me.
The luxury of being retired and freed from attachment to a schedule and calendar has also created some of the best of 2024 for us. January saw us take an epic trip to New Orleans, a place I had been, but Sue had not. We were met there by some friends from “back home” and really got to experience all the city had to offer during a relative lull in the crowds. We did take multiple trips to Conn. for a variety of reasons, all good, and spent time with the family and friends (really a second “chosen family”). We ended our travel season with a trip to Vero Beach (hosting more of our chosen family) and spent Thanksgiving in Colorado, where we gathered along with Sue’s family, many of whom I met for the very first time, and many of whom Sue had not seen in 40 or 50 years.
Every one of those trips saw us smiling to come to our new home, to fly out of and into one of the best airports with a very short trip to and from. Another of the best of 2024, that was also high on the list of the best of 2022 and 2023, is our house sitter/pet sitter. The fact that we are able to take a trip of any kind, whether it is an overnight in Charleston or at Disney’s Hilton Head so as not to have to drive home after a wine dinner, or a one or two week trip and know that your home and Abbey THE dog is being treated as if you were not gone at all is a wonderful feeling. I am selfishly not including her name as, for obvious reasons, her schedule fills up quickly enough that I don’t want to further jeopardize the opportunity to book her.
Finally, what really counts as the Best of 2024 is to be married to an amazing partner, be healthy enough to enjoy the sunshine, the beach, the ability to swim laps, to continue to explore, even after three and a half years, this area that always has something new to discover. There is one addition. My hope is that the best is still yet to come!
Kevin Fitzpatrick is a retired teacher who, along with his wife Sue (also a retired teacher) is enjoying exploring life in the Lowcountry and all it has to offer.
