For Love of Teaching...

Four years ago, last Thursday was a day that changed my life.  It was a Saturday, January 19, a day I was supposed to go to see my favorite college team, the UCONN Huskies play!  It ended up being a day I spent in the hospital.  I spent it with my dad whose struggles with leukemia and diabetes were getting the best of him.  My mom and I were by his side, and we were blessed to also have my best friend.  Her mother, who was a good friend of our family, was there also.  My mom and dad's pastor was also there with us.  That day my dad did lose his battle with cancer and diabetes.  It was the saddest day of my life.  Things changed so much for mom and me without him.  Dad, or pappy, as I called him, died on Saturday night.  Sunday mom and I stayed home together.  Monday was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, so I was home with her again.  But on Tuesday, guess where I was?  I was in my favorite place, the place I really felt I needed to be....the classroom.  My mom's sister had come to be with us, so I knew mom would be OK.  I needed to be with my kids, and I wanted them to know that I was OK.  That year I had 22 kids, and they were wonderful!  They were so caring and sweet and so concerned, and I'm so glad that I was able to be with them that day...to share with them, to laugh and cry with them, to let them see me, and see how special they were to me.  My love of teaching and being with my kids compelled me to get back in that classroom even though my dad had just passed.  Teaching means so much to me, it is my place of reprieve and joy.  It is what I have wanted to do since I was in 4th grade, mainly because I loved my 4th grade teacher so much!  It has filled me with joy for the past 16 years and I am so thankful to be able to be a part of such a wonderful occupation.  So thankful to be doing what I love!  Also, so thankful to find so many wonderful teachers and wonderful blogs to follow and learn from!  I continue to miss my daily, but as I think back on that time, that love of teaching and my wonderful kids, helped me through that tough time!  So thankful!