My bright idea was to go to the city where I teach and do some driveway visits. It's been a month since we've actually seen each other and I was hoping some of them were missing me as much as I was missing them...
But then a funny thing happened. Instead of turning right, I turned left. I found myself on the doorstep of two of my most precious kids from last year. While they were clearly not fans of me at the beginning of the year we became incredibly close by the end and we've met for lunches and dinners and performances and...just because...more times than I can count. One of them has been having a rough year and, after talking with him on multiple occasions, I knew that's where I needed to go. Their mom and I have spoken dozens of times on the phone and via text/social media but when she answered the door it took a minute for her to realize who I was and then there were so many hugs!
Over her shoulder one of the boys made eye contact and his hands flew to his mouth in surprise and I keep replaying that in my mind because it was PRICELESS. He met me at the door and hugged me while his brother looked on in disbelief. By the time I got to him, he was crying and I was doing my best to hold it together (I did...barely) and then I promptly grabbed his hand, dragged him outside, and sat next to him on the porch while we talked for 3 hours.
It was where I needed to be. I couldn't imagine being anywhere else. Those boys are two of the greatest joys that came out of where I taught last year and the relationships that were built as a result of that last-minute position are things that I treasure so dearly. He said it was just what he needed but I'm here to tell you...he wasn't the only one who needed it.
My weekend was a serious beatdown and he was one of the high points. It was so stressful for reasons I can't really articulate other than, when any of my "kids" are hurting I feel that hurt. I feel it and I can't not think about it.
After swinging by my mom's to drop off some dinner I went home to do a FaceTime tour of my condo for a couple who wanted to see what the inside looked like. I'm not sure how serious they were so I was kind of annoyed but, whatever...not my problem. After that was over I felt unsettled so I got in the car to just drive a little. I drove past my campus and snapped a picture to send to the kids along with an "I miss you!" message and then went to get gas where I ran into a student who works at the gas station. I thought it was her but wasn't sure until she tried to jump off of whatever she was standing on, cleaning, and I said, "DON'T DIE! I'LL WAIT!" Seeing her was also what I needed so I sent another a message and said, "I'll be in your driveway in 5 minutes." Her reply was "OMG, no way" so I spent almost an hour in the driveway talking to her and her brother.
On Sunday I continued the trend of showing the condo (to potential renters) and then driving around while it was being shown by realtors (to potential buyers). One of my other girls sent me a picture of her nephew and I asked if she was at her sister's. She said, "Yes!" so a little while later I said, "Me, too." and sent her a picture of the facade of the house. She flew out the door and I spent an hour talking to her about school and work and family and all sorts of stuff. When I was getting ready to leave she said, "Dubs, I needed this." and I knew exactly what she meant because...me, too.
I reached out to one of my newer students that I got at semester because he also lived nearby. I talk to him regularly, just like the girl I had just visited, so I told him I wouldn't come check on him if he didn't want me to but, surprisingly, he responded with, "I wouldn't mind if you did." so I did! We talked about school and grades and caffeine/coffee and I met his father (literally the last thing he wanted...added bonus for me) and my heart was so full. Even though we've known each other for a short time and we give each other a lot of grief it's because we instantly clicked from the moment he walked in my class and declared that I was psychotic. He later told me he knew he was going to love it as soon as he walked in which is totally reciprocated.
I have a growing list of students I want to driveway visit. I've felt like I wanted to do this for a long time but the main reason I acted on it was because one of my girls sent me a message on Saturday morning that said, "Saw this on Instagram and it reminded me of you 💜 you have a life of your own and problems of your own yet you still manage to help us all through ours and you find a way to make us all feel worth it. Just wanted to give you a big THANK YOU for being you 💜 you are amazing and I really appreciate everything you do for all your students. Love you man 😀" It accompanied a picture of a teacher sitting on a driveway 6 feet away from a little girl, reading her a story, because she had a hard time during the Zoom session and was upset because she missed her teacher.
And maybe it's taken a pandemic for them to understand but the themes of many of the messages in the last week or so have been love, gratitude, respect, and calling me a second mom. It is my job to teach them content but it is my privilege to teach them love, kindness, and acceptance. Those lessons are so much more valuable than the state requirements, especially when I see them spreading those lessons like confetti.
Aubs
Over her shoulder one of the boys made eye contact and his hands flew to his mouth in surprise and I keep replaying that in my mind because it was PRICELESS. He met me at the door and hugged me while his brother looked on in disbelief. By the time I got to him, he was crying and I was doing my best to hold it together (I did...barely) and then I promptly grabbed his hand, dragged him outside, and sat next to him on the porch while we talked for 3 hours.
It was where I needed to be. I couldn't imagine being anywhere else. Those boys are two of the greatest joys that came out of where I taught last year and the relationships that were built as a result of that last-minute position are things that I treasure so dearly. He said it was just what he needed but I'm here to tell you...he wasn't the only one who needed it.
My weekend was a serious beatdown and he was one of the high points. It was so stressful for reasons I can't really articulate other than, when any of my "kids" are hurting I feel that hurt. I feel it and I can't not think about it.
After swinging by my mom's to drop off some dinner I went home to do a FaceTime tour of my condo for a couple who wanted to see what the inside looked like. I'm not sure how serious they were so I was kind of annoyed but, whatever...not my problem. After that was over I felt unsettled so I got in the car to just drive a little. I drove past my campus and snapped a picture to send to the kids along with an "I miss you!" message and then went to get gas where I ran into a student who works at the gas station. I thought it was her but wasn't sure until she tried to jump off of whatever she was standing on, cleaning, and I said, "DON'T DIE! I'LL WAIT!" Seeing her was also what I needed so I sent another a message and said, "I'll be in your driveway in 5 minutes." Her reply was "OMG, no way" so I spent almost an hour in the driveway talking to her and her brother.
On Sunday I continued the trend of showing the condo (to potential renters) and then driving around while it was being shown by realtors (to potential buyers). One of my other girls sent me a picture of her nephew and I asked if she was at her sister's. She said, "Yes!" so a little while later I said, "Me, too." and sent her a picture of the facade of the house. She flew out the door and I spent an hour talking to her about school and work and family and all sorts of stuff. When I was getting ready to leave she said, "Dubs, I needed this." and I knew exactly what she meant because...me, too.
I reached out to one of my newer students that I got at semester because he also lived nearby. I talk to him regularly, just like the girl I had just visited, so I told him I wouldn't come check on him if he didn't want me to but, surprisingly, he responded with, "I wouldn't mind if you did." so I did! We talked about school and grades and caffeine/coffee and I met his father (literally the last thing he wanted...added bonus for me) and my heart was so full. Even though we've known each other for a short time and we give each other a lot of grief it's because we instantly clicked from the moment he walked in my class and declared that I was psychotic. He later told me he knew he was going to love it as soon as he walked in which is totally reciprocated.
I have a growing list of students I want to driveway visit. I've felt like I wanted to do this for a long time but the main reason I acted on it was because one of my girls sent me a message on Saturday morning that said, "Saw this on Instagram and it reminded me of you 💜 you have a life of your own and problems of your own yet you still manage to help us all through ours and you find a way to make us all feel worth it. Just wanted to give you a big THANK YOU for being you 💜 you are amazing and I really appreciate everything you do for all your students. Love you man 😀" It accompanied a picture of a teacher sitting on a driveway 6 feet away from a little girl, reading her a story, because she had a hard time during the Zoom session and was upset because she missed her teacher.
And maybe it's taken a pandemic for them to understand but the themes of many of the messages in the last week or so have been love, gratitude, respect, and calling me a second mom. It is my job to teach them content but it is my privilege to teach them love, kindness, and acceptance. Those lessons are so much more valuable than the state requirements, especially when I see them spreading those lessons like confetti.
Aubs
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