The phone rang at 2:45.
“Oh, good, you’re still here,” said the school secretary. She continued, “How late will you be here? Someone wants to deliver something to you.”
I stumbled out a reply, lying a bit when I said, “I was planning on leaving at 3:15.”
Whoever thought to give us a PD day on the Monday after Thanksgiving was a genius. After a morning working on unit plans with the ELA team, my afternoon brain was mush. I’d been planning to leave by 3, but I’d been ready to leave for a while and was just doing busy work. Oh, there was a lot of work to do, I just couldn’t focus. Now my brain had a purpose as I wondered who had something to drop off for me.
The phone rang again just after 3:00 and I was asked to come to the office. As I walked the length of my hall towards the main staircase, I suddenly wondered if I was in trouble. It’s an old habit, not unlike the “OOOOOO” that rises when a student is called down.
Descending the steps, I turned towards the office and saw two strangers in the dark room: a tall man with a bouquet and a short woman. As soon as I entered the room I knew who it was.
A few weeks ago, the mother of a former student had reached out to me. I taught her son in the 2017-18 school year. She said she wanted to create a general academic/character profile for him and hoped to have letters from his Elementary, Middle and High School teachers. I distinctly remembered him and happily agreed, asking for a deadline.
As the dead line approached, I wasn’t happy with the prose I had written, so decided to shake things up. I wrote a poem that referred to two specific moments in 6th grade and my reflections as I saw him in the halls as a 7th and 8th grader. It’s not exactly what she asked for, I thought, but it captures my impressions of him. I sent it and offered to rewrite it if she wanted something more formal. Her effusive response was heart-warming.
I entered the office and knew exactly who these people were.
“You’re N, aren’t you?” I asked, knowing full well I was right.
We spent a few minutes chatting and catching up on his plans for the future and what had become of his other teachers. And they left me with this:
booksandbassets 
These moments, while they don’t make up for so much that teachers have to deal with, do make the work of teaching special. I am so very glad your Thanksgiving had this lovely extension. Beautiful and deserved. (A poem, nonetheless, remarkable…)
I am guessing this family asked you because of a special connection they felt you established. Then you delivered a thoughtful poem! (I wish you would share it sometime.) Your piece reminds me of how teachers often matter more than they realize. I’m so glad this family made you realize it; a Thanksgiving extension, as Trish said!
What a lovely gesture on their part. We know the impact we make on students even though we don’t often hear about it. Hearing from parents just takes things up a notch. Congratulations on all that you do for your students.
Wonderful to feel so appreciated! Well deserved.❤️
That’s such a lovely thing for them to do. 🙂