The last couple of posts have been kind of self-deprecating. I am not like that all the time, but I do have my days. Doesn't everybody? So I have decided to write a more upbeat and, I hope, entertaining post.
As you probably know, I work at a school. My students are toddlers so we have many adventures together. I love my students, each and every one. Even the ones that make me want to tear my hair out at times. Sometimes, these tiny little humans amaze me. So I have decided to share some of my favorite moments.
One of my students is an 18-month old boy. He is the cutest little thing. And I mean little. He is our youngest student and our smallest. On Thursdays, the school librarian hikes down to the basement from the top floor and reads to us. During one of these storytimes, this student climbed into my lap. Sitting next to me was one of the other 18-month olds. She put her tiny hand on my leg. The student sitting on my lap looked at her, forcefully shoved her hand away and said, quite proudly, "Mine!" I was laughing too much to get on to him for being hateful.
Another of our students is a blond-haired boy who is 2. He has beautiful curls and a light dusting of freckles on his nose. If you have ever listened to Five Iron Frenzy, they have a song called Dandelions. This boy reminds me of that song every time I see him. One day he said something to me and I just giggled and told him he was a cutie patootie. He grinned at me and said, "Yep. I'm cute."
Not all of my favorite memories are funny. Some of the ones I cherish the most are when a child crawls into my lap because they just want to be comforted. I love it when one of my students runs up and give me a hug just because. I also love it when they reach up and tenderly touch my cheek. I love it when they say my name though sometimes it is hard to understand.
I am blessed to have the opportunity to share part of my life with these children. They are so innocent and untainted by the world. They have such faith in the adults around them. I am honored to be one of their caregivers. It saddens me to think about leaving them.
I have thought a lot recently about finding another job. My roommate is now gone and I have the whole apartment to myself. I love it. I would really like to keep it that way. To do that, I need to make more money. A second job is out of the question. I already work extra at the school to help pay the bills which means I work about 10 hours everyday. Plus, I have classes and church activities. I am already so busy. Adding another job to the mix would probably push me over the edge.
But I hate the thought of leaving my students. I have been praying a lot about what I should do. I'll figure something out. Thanks for reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment