Our family has experienced quite a few changes recently. Leah finished up her second grade year, Thomas graduated from middle school and is officially prepared to enter high school, and my husband finished up his very last day as a public school teacher for Henrico County Schools. So many things seem to be changing and coming to an end and I’ve been trying to process all of it.
This week, I was out of town for work and as I drove back to Richmond this afternoon, I thought about my husband, and how he might be feeling on his very last day as a public school teacher. I thought about my daughter and how excited she must be for summer break. And I thought about my son and how nervous he probably is about starting high school this fall at the same school where Mark has taught for the past 11 years. I would be lying if I said I was not worried about Thomas’s transition into public High School. I think about it a lot these days. I worry about how Thomas will find his own way. Will he make the right connections with the students and teachers? Will he feel as though he is in his dad’s shadow? Recently I ran into the principle at Godwin High School, who is a lovely person and a friend of the family. After expressing my concerns about the transition to high school she smiled and assured me that Thomas will be fine. “I’ve got him.” she said with genuine regard for my mama bear worries, because she is also a mama bear so, she gets it!
A couple of weeks ago, I was fretting over High School, once again. In an effort to reduce my anxiety, Mark assured me that he had talked to several of his trusted students about keeping an eye out for our boy. He mentioned three girls in particular, all of whom I have met. They are funny, smart and well rounded and they promised Mark they would look out for our boy next year.
As I drove up to the house, Leah ran outside to greet me with a huge hug and lots of details about her last day of school as a second grader. I gave my husband a kiss and inquired about how he was feeling, considering he was no longer a teacher. As suspected, he did not make a big deal out of things because he is pragmatic and focused on his future endeavor with his recent promotion. He’s not particularly sentimental and he is too humble to admit just how impactful he has been to so many students.
I walked into the house, placing my things in the office and wandered into the kitchen where I saw a small black photo album sitting on our kitchen table. As I peered closer at the album, I realized that it was a gift from some of his former students. Opening the front cover, I saw a handwritten note from three rising seniors at Godwin High School. Their personal note wished him all the best at his new job and referenced him as the “Best PE Teacher in the United States!”. I turned to look at my husband who saw me reading the album and, of course, he minimized how wonderful it made him feel to be be recognized by his students for doing such a great job. The three girls who had given Mark this thoughtful gift were the exact same girls that had promised to look out for our boy next year.
Mark went on to explain that these girls made a point to come by his classroom before school to hang out, chat and write silly notes on his dry erase board each and every day. He shared that he always got a kick out of their silly messages and the personal jokes they shared. Unbeknownst to Mark, these students had taken pictures of their silly dry erase board notes every day, printed those pictures and made the photo album to share with Mark on his very last day of teaching.
Leah joined me, peering around my arm as I began to look through the album. I saw pictures captioned with funny inside jokes and memories from throughout this past school year. One girl wrote a note about the week she missed school for a family vacation, and teased about how much Mark must have missed her that week. Another dry erase note listed the 2019 super bowl results with typical teenager snarky yet comical comments about the winning team. Sometimes, the girls posed in front of the dry erase board, making goofy faces and posing for exaggerated selfies. It was quite evident to me that they had put a lot of thought into this gift AND it was evident just how much they adore and respect my husband. I was touched. Then I spotted one particular picture of the dry erase board that gave me pause.
I blinked as I read the note on the dry erase board that said, “Thomas is coming next year! Soooo he will be my new BFF!”
And just like that, the flood gates opened wide and the tears started to flow down my cheeks. Leah put her hand on my arm and rubbed gently back and forth in a effort to soothe me. She knew these were happy tears, grateful tears and hopeful tears. Thomas had a great 8th grade year and is not only several inches taller but he is also more mature and confidant.
The fact that our boy will be attending Godwin High School at the very same time that his father will be leaving that very same school, feels as though we have come full circle. I think that sometimes life brings you full circle to a place you have been before just to show you how much you have grown.
Below is the picture from the photo album that made me cry.
chro-NICK-les 