A career in teaching - 02
posted by sooyup
on
Mr Chips
Marry in haste (the proverb warns) and repent at leisure. I met Emma Jane when she was fourteen and married her when she was nineteen. So, in one sense, it was hardly a hasty decision. On the other hand, we were resigned to having to wait until Emma “came of age” at twenty-one. In the event, we learned that Emma was pregnant on Saturday and were married by special licence on Wednesday (without a shotgun in sight). Now that’s haste! I believed my obsession with Emma had put paid to an academic career, but I honestly didn’t care. My cup of happiness was full to overflowing. With a wife and child to support, I moved from one dead-end job to another, thinking only of the take-home pay. But at the age of twenty-eight, bored out of my mind as a clerk in a wages office, I suddenly repented my lack of ambition. That night, I hinted to Emma that I might like to train as a teacher. “Make enquiries tomorrow,” she said. “We’ll cope.” It’s at moments like that you realise how lucky you are. [This is Emma at the time.]
Marry in haste (the proverb warns) and repent at leisure. I met Emma Jane when she was fourteen and married her when she was nineteen. So, in one sense, it was hardly a hasty decision. On the other hand, we were resigned to having to wait until Emma “came of age” at twenty-one. In the event, we learned that Emma was pregnant on Saturday and were married by special licence on Wednesday (without a shotgun in sight). Now that’s haste! I believed my obsession with Emma had put paid to an academic career, but I honestly didn’t care. My cup of happiness was full to overflowing. With a wife and child to support, I moved from one dead-end job to another, thinking only of the take-home pay. But at the age of twenty-eight, bored out of my mind as a clerk in a wages office, I suddenly repented my lack of ambition. That night, I hinted to Emma that I might like to train as a teacher. “Make enquiries tomorrow,” she said. “We’ll cope.” It’s at moments like that you realise how lucky you are. [This is Emma at the time.]
