I have the day off from work. No, I’m not doing anything fun. My baby is sick, so I’m sitting on the couch watching Mickey Mouse or on the floor playing with plastic food. In a way, it is rather fun. I don’t get much time during the week to hang out with baby G. I’m at work, she’s at ‘friends’, and when we both get home it’s time for dinner and then bed.

I used to get so frustrated with my husband at times. I would be home with the kids and ready for a break when he got home from work. He got to go out into the world and talk with big people. I figured he would be jazzed to come home and hang out with the little humans in our home. Usually, he was ready for a break himself, and I just caught a second wind and kept going. Now I understand.

I love my job. I have a terrific class. My team is outstanding. The atmosphere at my school is one of respect, empowerment, support, and a strong current of a growth mindset. It’s a happy place to be. One of my favorite parts of the day is helping students get out of their cars in the morning car line.

Most people don’t like car line. It’s outside, you have to be cold/hot, you are missing precious ‘in class prep minutes’, and parents/drivers aren’t always nice or polite. But, I actually love it. I love seeing all these little people jumping out of their warm cars, full of expectation, excitement, and faith. They trust us, the teachers, to be ready for them and to have something fun or interesting every day.  It can be a bit of a heavy responsibility.

But besides their spongy little faces, I love hearing them say, “Bye mom/dad, I love you!” And hearing their parent respond. What a great way to start any day. I know my school is in a little ‘bubble of nice’ and I love it. I see all(some) of the crappy stuff that goes by in the news (FB) and wonder if those kids that are doing or experiencing horrid things have a mom/dad saying they love them every morning. Do they get a ride to school in a warm car? Do they get a kiss on their cheek as they climb out of the car?

Our school isn’t perfect, we have those kids that show up in yesterday’s clothes, broken glasses, and no jacket. They hide that they don’t have a lunch by saying they forgot it. They tell you they forgot to do their homework when you know they were babysitting younger siblings while the parents were ‘somewhere’. Those are the kids that pull at our heartstrings. We want to wrap our arms around them and make it all right. We want to pull them into our warm classrooms, give them lunch, jackets, and love. We love our kids and we do all we can for them.

Can it ever be enough to make up for the crap at home? I can only pray it makes some sort of a difference.

Cause I said so.

Photo credit: Step to Health