Last Day of School and I Cried... but not for the reason you may think...

My first year back from maternity leave is in the books. Ridge's first year of school is over. Elle's first year with a nanny has come and gone... and it all went incredibly FAST! But surprisingly, no tears were shed over my babies getting older (except for the fact that the end of this year means Miss Ashley has to leave us). My tears came courtsey of someone else's baby.

Teachers see glimpses into the souls of kids daily. But our days are so ridiculously busy that most of the time when these special moments happen, we smile, feeling blessed to see a beautiful spirit finding its way in the world, and move about our day teaching, loving, and helping students grow. Today was different. Today I cried.

I drink La Croix Sparkling Water like it's going out of style. Seriously. I have 2-3 at school and another 2-3 at home. Every. Day. As a Media and Technology teacher, I teach every student in the school, some twice a week. My twice a week classes picked up on my La Croix addiction quickly. They found it hilarious... but like teachers, students are incredibly busy. They're being pushed academically, socially, and emotionally... so when they get glimpses into our souls, they do what we do. They smile and move about their day. Not Julia.

This morning, Julia came to visit me before school. She was carrying a ziplock bag full of ice. Her hands were wet from the sweating, melting bag that had become mostly water on her bus ride to school. She looked like a little girl, grinning ear-to-ear from the thrill of winning a goldfish in a bag from the county fair. But she wasn't holding a bag of water with a newly acquired aquatic pet. She was holding a bag with an ice cold La Croix. It was a lime flavored one, my favorite. Not only had sweet Julia thought about what would make a perfect end-of-year present for one of her teachers, she'd also remembered my favorite flavored drink. I was floored.

I've received countless impressive gifts. I've received precious hand-created masterpieces. I have a garden full of potted plants that remind me of the sweet families who gifted them to me. But I've never gotten something as thoughtful as an ice cold La Croix in a melting ziplock bag. Julia did more for me today than give me a *very* thoughtful gift. She showed me that I'm making an impression. And by God, I'm determined that the impression I'll leave on every sweet soul that passes through my school is a meaningful one.

I decided to save my lime La Croix. It didn't feel right to drink it... even though it was painstakingly brought to me to be enjoyed. I decided to sit it in a spot in my office where I would see it and it would be a daily reminder to be as kind and thoughtful... to leave on my students as huge of an impression as sweet Julia has left on me.

Every time I glanced at that La Croix today, I got all glassy-eyed. And then the school day ended and Ridge bounded into my office, excited to tell me about his *first ever* last day of school. I had to finish up a few things in the Media Center, so Ridge passed his time playing games on my computer.  When I walked into my office to tell him it was time to leave, I saw a room temperature lime La Croix, half drank in his sweet little hand. See, Ridge loves La Croix just like me. For a brief moment, I panicked. Then I smiled and got a little glassy-eyed yet again. I knew the conversation that was about to take place. I would ask Ridge how his day was and would get a few tidbits of the joys of kindergarten. He would then ask me about mine and I knew exactly how I'd start... I'd tell him about a sweet girl named Julia.