One of the coolest things about teaching...

One afternoon there seemed to be a turnstile at my classroom door during my prep period...

I love the fact that student who have graduated come back and visit. I had three students in one afternoon come back to spend time touching base with me. It was kind of an odd, yet cool, occurrence... these three students did not come together, did not know each other, and all walked into my classroom within three to five minutes of each other.

The first young man was in my Competitive Speech course and was able to travel with us to Europe last summer. He met his girlfriend in my CS class. She was a foreign exchange student only with us for one semester. He is actually moving back to Sweden this weekend to be with her. I admire his fearlessness and his ability to leap with no limits. He has his work visa, but no job and is perfectly okay to play banjo for his supper! I LOVE THAT!!!! I wish him soooooo much success! To live with fearless abandon!

Five minutes later in walks a young lady I had the opportunity to have in class for two years, beginning with my Drama 1 class. She had to be a student of mine through my first year of teaching! She is such a dear heart and struggled so much with living in Little Rock, being from Chicago. When she walked into my class that day, she had a little one in her arms. This beautiful young woman was holding her newborn girl with the most beautiful head of hair! She had come to introduce me to her brand new daughter, and to be in my classroom one last time, as she was moving back to Chicago. How cool that she wanted to say goodbye before moving. I will miss her dearly. And she made me feel so special, that she wanted to introduce me to someone so special to her...a precious bundle of beauty...such little fingers!!! Super Sweet!

Then a little while longer, another young man walked thru my door. He had been back from the West Coast. He had moved out there for a true love and to begin a new life. He was coming in to say goodbye before he left a couple of days later.

And these are three of many. I love that students come back to say hello, to come and hang out over lunch, to fill me in on all of their adventures. I love hearing from them, to hear of all their successes, and how much their independence excites them.

And I know that there will be many more. And I love that they do come back to say hello and share the adventures of their lives.

I am grateful for this added bonus of teaching.