I was a little nervous about it because this is new territory for me. I'm still a fairly young high school teacher by comparison, so I like to be careful about things.
On his last day of high school, he caught me in the hallway and we had a bone-crushing hug as tears streamed down his face. I barely kept it together and then cried by myself later. I think I hugged him three times at graduation. In fact, I almost missed the bus back to school.
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| My associate principal once said to me, "you know you're like his mom, right?" I'll spend my life doing right by him. |
I knew that this dinner was the right choice.
I picked him up, we headed to my place, and I made dinner as we made small talk -- I told him what I had been up to lately; he talked a little bit about his job and dodged questions about his on-and-off girlfriend. (don't worry, they are together right now)
As we ate, I slaughtered him in a round of Skip-Bo and then he obliterated me in a second game. Smack talk and laughter abounded. I was with... a friend?
I would have never guessed my life as a teacher would include these kinds of moments. Teaching is one of those things that I knew in my bones I would do without really knowing what that meant.
It turns out that teaching has a lot to do with finding people to love when you least expect it. It has a lot to do with loving more people than you ever thought you could and wrenching your heart over their journey. You find people from all over the world to call yours and you are stretched more than feels bearable. There is a fierceness to this life. There are a lot of tears. And there is so much laughter and hope.
I have a job where I am allowed and called to be so very alive. I am grateful.
