The thing about being a teacher, especially one at a small private school, is that the students have a very special place in your heart. I am loathe to say that I feel like their parent, for that is a title that holds greater significance than I could hope to hold in their child's life, but I do feel as if I am an overprotective aunt to them. I teach them, love them, try to teach them morals and ethics, but send them home to be raised by their real families.
I love my students, even on days I wish I could strangle them for the poor choices they make. I see amazing potential in each and every one I meet. I pray for them daily. I am overjoyed when they graduate, get married, have kids... It is amazing seeing them become "grown-ups" (though many of my high school students would like to argue they already are!) I hurt for them when they have loss: a parent, a sibling, a friend...and I still grieve the students I've had that have passed on. I have had days, sitting on the floor of the girls' bathroom listening to students cry and grieve, for they have experienced pains unlike any I ever have; I was their shoulder to cry on, the safe adult to confess things to, the shepherd that lead them to find the help they need....
.....but I am leaving them. I know for myself, this is where God is leading me and my family. Moving cross-country is hard for anyone, but for a teacher it makes you feel like you are abandoning your students. I will miss "my kids" more than many people will understand...this school has been my home away from home, my family during the day... I just pray that I have reached them just as they have affected me!
