Some days are meant to be remembered

Today was one of those day. Actually this has been happening on and off for a few weeks now.

Today I ran into one of my old students mom. She came to enroll her youngest son in my school. The minute I saw her I knew who she was but was unsure if she remembered me. She did and as we started to catch up she told me something that made me smile. She said " You know F has never forgotten you, to this day he still talks about you."

I was surprised to hear that considering that when I was her sons teacher he was four, and I can barely remember anything from when I was four. So for him to remember me was amazing, but then again not everyone has crappy memory like me.

Anyways, She informed me that he is in the fourth grade now. Can you believe that one of my students is in the fourth grade? Goodness where has the time gone? She told me that they can't get him to stop talking which made me laugh because way back when due to a speech impediment F would barely speak. So to hear that he has turned into a talker was great news.

I have been running into old students,their parents, and ex co-workers everywhere. It has really been a blessing. Lately due to a few incidents (for lack of a better word) I have been feeling like crap. I have been doubting and second guessing myself a lot. I even thought about giving up teaching. So to run into people who know me back when is great.I am so grateful to them for sharing their stories with me. Right now they mean more to me then anyone will ever know.

One of the best things in the world is to walk into a school and hear a voice somewhere say " Ms. Karla is that you?" I love it when families come up to me and are so excited to introduce me to their relatives or the newest addition to their family. " Mira Ms. Karla, in a few years he /she will be in your class." Its not only a great feeling but also a great honor to know you made an impact in someones life.

I know that if you go back far enough you will find those blog post where I am ranting about how much I disliked working with middle school kids. Which at the time was how I felt and I don't regret writing those post. Well I ran into one of those middle school kids the other day. He is now a high school junior and it was great to run in to him. I could not help but laugh as he told his friends " Nah, man Ms. G is cool, you just don't know." It was also good to hear that he is doing so well in school. I can't believe that next year he will graduate.

I also blushed from embarrasement as an ex co-worker that I have not seen in a long time told a big shot in the district " Have you seen this girl teach? She is like magic, I mean it is amazing. You have to watch her teach, you might learn something." What do you say to some thing like that? "Thank You" does not seem to do it justice.

If fact what do you say when a student who you were sure you failed comes back and tells you that you where the first person to believe in them and because of that they were able to believe in themselves? or when a child writes you a note thanking you for going to their game/concert and you realize that you were the only adult in their life that bothered to show up that night?

What do you do when a grown man comes to you in tears and thanks you for giving his child a chance? What do you say when a women who was abused comes back and tells you that you not only saved her life but her children's as well? That because you kept insisting she finally went back to school and will graduate in a few days? When a family who has nothing gathers the few dollars they do have to buy you a gift as their way of saying thanks? Some time there are no words to express how you feel, and some times "Thank You" is not enough.

I hope you all know I am not bragging trust me I know I am not all that. I have a lot to learn. My students teach me more then I teach them. I just needed to write this down as a way to remember all the good things. So on those days that I feel like giving up I can come back to this post and remember that I can't. Giving up is not an option. There are kids, families out there who need me. I can't let them down.