A Day In The Life

Well I made it through the first day of school. First day, new school, new teachers, none of whom I know. I stood in the gym watching as students arrived, the third graders that I would meet officially that morning in the classroom. I watched some of them come in and run over to their 2nd grade teachers, hugging them, all smiles, the teachers commenting on how much they had grown over the summer. Suddenly I could feel a lump rising in my throat, and a feeling I can only describe as emptiness. What the hec? Where was this coming from? In that moment I realized how much I missed being in my place of comfort and familiarity- greeting the kids I had known for 8 years, watching them grow from my 1st grade class up through middle school. No regrets about having left my former school, just a stark realization at how much a part of me those surroundings had become, the difference that  knowing each child’s name and face has made in my life, and how they were woven within my life. A school becomes like a family. Teachers spend a lot of waking hours with their students, getting to know them, what makes them tick, how to help reach them so they will be successful, their little quirks. I found myself growing wistful throughout the day, people were friendly, teachers who had met me at orientation saying hello, remembering my name. All good. It will take time to get to know the new faces in my class, to make that connection with them, to know what makes them tick.

I ended my day with bus duty, checking each student off my list as they boarded the bus home. One of the boys in my class looked up at me and exclaimed, “Hey! You’re my teacher!” I started to laugh and said his name and told him he was right. I asked if he had had a good first day, and he said yes. We waved good bye to each other and said “see you tomorrow!” A new beginning.