A Little Love for Ms. M

Nobody likes a whiner, so I'm going to try my best not to be one. I'll be brief: several incidents in the past week have made school perhaps even more unbearable than usual (...).

Now it is EOG week, but as soon as testing is over for the day, the kids WILE OUT. I would compare it to wild banshees being let out of a straight jacket after four hours. It's exhausting, but I have to keep reminding myself that I would probably have a little energy to burn after working out math problems for four hours too.

Then again, I probably wouldn't burn it by taking off my shirt, flossing it back and forth between my legs and singing "It's Raining Men."

Mere difference of temperament.

ANYWAYS. Maybe that background will shed some light on why this moment stood out to me...

Today we were outside after the test when Essa (the athlete who is a little too cocky for his own good but just sweet enough to make him likeable anyways) came up behind me and slung his heavy arm across my shoulders.

"Imma miss you next year, Ms. M, real tawlk." He continued to escort me across the lawn, ignoring my look of surprise. "I really do love you, Ms. M. Sometimes you make me mad, but I love you anyways. You one of my favorite teachers and Imma miss you next year when I'm at high school."

I squeezed his arm. Looking up at his smile, I know he couldn't have known how much those few sentences meant to me (I couldn't let him know either; Lord knows thinks too much of himself anyways). "I love you too, Essa. And you make me mad sometimes too, but I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't miss you next year."

I meant it.

Tomorrow my students take the Science EOG--it's what I've been preparing them for all year and will be used to gauge my effectiveness and their growth. I hope it is a true testament to what they've learned. Please pray for them! I really want them to be able to feel successful at the end of the year.

I'm not gonna lie, I want that for myself too.