My wife Lucy and I both grew up in the Midwest. We met at a small liberal arts college in Ohio (it would probably take you less than three guesses to figure out which one).
I was a computer science major and Lucy studied history, but she soon learned that her passion was teaching. After we graduated she got a job as a middle school history teacher at a private school. She was a natural — the combination of her youth, sense of humor, excitement for the subject, and most importantly her sincere desire to connect with EVERY student quickly made her the most popular teacher at school. Lucy was everybody’s favorite, from the straight-A do-gooders to the fuck-up stoners and the goth girls with Doc Martens. They all loved her.
Which made it so difficult when the small company I worked for got bought by a big software giant and we had to relocate to Silicon Valley. The kids were devastated, and Lucy was really sad, too. It was a rough few weeks as she said goodbye to her students and parents and we began to prepare for our new life in California.