Visits

Towards the end of the day today, a former grad came to visit.

And then another.

And then another.

My heart is so full. These kids are overloaded with rigorous coursework and even college athletics.

And on a rare free afternoon, I’m one of the ones who got a visit.

It’s not lost on me what a sacrifice that is.

What a gift that is.

I know the popular narrative is that teachers are overworked and underpaid. And while that’s not untrue, it’s not the whole story. It’s time we start being more bold about the rest of the story. The part about how we have kids come back to visit. The part about how we have boxes or binders full of pictures and notes and emails of gratitude. The part about how we get to be creative, about how kids make us laugh, about how we witness growth. The part about how we get to help students live the truest, kindest, most beautiful versions of themselves.

Not all days are good; I get it, trust me.

But here we are, with our good days and not so good days, and the kids see it all and choose us anyway. Because we chose them first.

In my faith, there’s a Scripture that gets a lot of coverage: “We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)

May we love our kids so well that it changes the way they see themselves and see other people. May we see the light in them. May we help bring out the beauty in each.

And on our bad days, may we remember the ones that come back to visit. May we remember we’re doing important work.