Where I Belong

As many people who followed my journey last year with Freedom School Partners know, I had a very rough summer with my kids. Granted I loved them all, they were a challenge to keep in line and to work with sometimes. I probably cried more days than I would like to admit because I was so stressed and I remember  after the first day coming home and thinking how in the world I was going to do this for 6 weeks. However, I made it though my summer and I loved every second of it. I was hard on my babies, no one got away with anything in or outside of my classroom.

Well today was the first day of FSP local training. We started out with how something that you say or do to a child whether positive or negative has a massive impact on their life and the summer director called out my name asking me to stand to be recognized. Obviously I was quite shocked. She went on to say she had visited the site that my old site kids would be moved to and that a little boy came up to her asked her if I was returning this summer ,She told him that I was, but I was not at his site, rather another one. She could see that he was disappointed and then the little guy went on to say that he was sad about that because he "really loved miss Taylor." She proceeded to congratulate me for making a difference for a child and to do what ever it was I did again for another little one.

Now here I am sitting down about to cry because I loved my babies last year, even the ones who have given me grey hairs. I had a very hard summer as stated above, and in no way did I ever think that I was doing something right and that my kids would remember me. I felt like I was the odd man out and could not get things right or my kids under control. I have no idea what I said or did for this little boy, nor do I know which child it was that said this, but hearing that a child remembers you for something you did for them made me realize I am right where I am supposed to be for this summer.

I had a hard time choosing to go back to FSP this summer, but after today I am so looking forward to this summer, and cannot wait to meet my new children at my new site. I will miss last years babies so much, I still think of them often and wonder how they are doing. Maybe one day I will have them in high school, who knows. This little boy will probably never know that I was informed of his comment, but I wish I could tell him how much it means to me to know that I impacted his life in someway to make him say that about me. It makes every hard day worth it.

Tayloe