I Just Declared It Hug A Teacher Day! You Are Welcome

My senior portrait. That perm made other perms jealous 😉

It is almost the end of another school year. I cannot tell you how excited I am. Isn’t it funny, when each new school year starts, I am torn. Sad to see our summer end, yet excited to get back to some kind of routine. Also let’s face it, I am THAT nerd who LOVES new pencils and notebooks. I could sit and smell a box of crayons for hours.

Now as the school year comes to an end, we are worn thin, barely hanging on. We have projects due and standardized test coming up. I am done with homework and done with helping study for test. This happens every year in the spring though. We are ready for summer. You know who else is ready for summer? The teachers. I would like to dedicate this post to them. My kids have some great teachers. From preschool to elementary school, we have been very fortunate.

Sending kids to preschool is a hard thing to do as a mother, especially a stay at home mom. You have stayed home so you can be with your kids and teach them all the things that they need to know about life. Yet now you must you send your baby to school so they can grow and socialize. These teachers are the ones who take care of your babies, while they are still actual babies.

Preschool teachers are angels if you ask me. Could you spend the day with 20 three-year olds, wiping noses, buttoning pants and wiping away tears? Doesn’t sound easy to me. All four of my kids have been to the same preschool and I absolutely adore everyone there. My kids come to my car every day smiling. You cannot put a price tag on that piece of mind. It means the world to me. Anyone who cares about my babies as much as I do, is alright by me. We have our third pre-k graduation coming up this year and I have my box of tissues ready.

Once they graduate preschool (yes, I know we didn’t graduate preschool or even go to preschool but try to keep up) it is off to kindergarten. I have dedicated an entire blog post to this event. It is gut wrenching. This is where we send our baby to big school, five days a week. As a stay at home mom this is when your role begins to change. Now your kid is gone everyday and you have to adjust. They have a teacher taking care of them now.

The recent events in the world has made our teachers have to step up on a whole other level. Now our teachers are the protectors of our kids, when we are not with them. They have always nurtured and taught them but in today’s unnerving times, they are also being taught how to defend them.

My children’s elementary school practiced a lock down drill last week. The children and teachers were taught what to do in case of an intruder or other event, that would cause the school to be locked down. This rattled me. My kids go to elementary school in the United States of America. They shouldn’t have to fear violence while trying to get an education. The thought of this actually happening is more than most parents can dare to imagine. What if my children’s safety was called into question and the only one there to keep them safe was their teacher? There is a lump in my throat as I write this now, even thinking about it.

I believe that teaching is a calling. I believe that teachers are born to teach. I believe the good ones want as much for our kids as we do, to see them excel and thrive in life. If faced with a terrible, unthinkable situation such as some have faced recently, I believe our teachers would protect my children in the same manner that I would. I don’t know about you, but if I can’t be there, then that makes me feel just a little bit better, knowing someone who cares for them, would be.

My kids are my heart. They are my heart walking around exposed for all of the world to see. They are vulnerable and therefore so am I, times four. I want to take this opportunity to thank every teacher who has already touched their lives and all of those they have yet to meet. You are the angels who care for my kids when I cannot.

I had a handful of teachers in my life who really exemplified what it meant to be a teacher. There are those who go above and beyond. Those who you know, love their job and love you. Those who do not fade away just because you are no longer in their class. The ones who teach you so much more than just math.

I asked my third grader once if she liked her teacher. She thought about it and said, “I don’t know. She is MEAN. But don’t tell her because I wouldn’t want to hurt her feelings. I like her.” That sounds like the perfect teacher to me. She had earned her respect.

As a teacher you may not always know how much you actually influence your students. They probably won’t ever say. Often times it is a thankless job. At some point though, there was a student who needed exactly what you gave them, whether it was your time, extra direction or just hope. There are adults walking around in the world who are better people, because you touched their life.

As the school year comes to an end, before you put away those backpacks and lunch boxes, bury those study guides and notebooks and strap on a swim suit to head to the pool, take a moment to tell a teacher how much you appreciate them. They don’t do it for the money, that is obvious. If you had a teacher who touched your life, tell them so. Kind words are a teacher’s payday. Not the kind of payday that pays bills, but the kind that feeds the soul.

I am declaring it give a teacher a squeeze day! Go ahead, don’t be shy. Tell them I said it was okay. Anyone have a teacher who went above and beyond the call of duty in your life?

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