Refreshing the Spirit
I got a real treat at work today: I got to go back to the school where I taught 5/6 for a year and reconnect with the people I’d known there. One very special person in particular: My daughter.
In addition to being the school where I had my very first full time classroom, it’s the school where Diva Girl did her Junior Kindergarten year. At the same time. It was quite the year, both of us figuring out the school thing together–me how to juggle being a teacher and a mom, and her how to negotiate all of the social and academic expectations that come from dipping your toe into the big wide world. And it certainly set us apart, us attending school together; it made us stand out a bit. She would hang out in the staff room with me before school–even came to a couple staff meetings–and every teacher in the school knew who she was.
I was asked about her repeatedly today. Nearly every teacher I talked to was interested in what she was doing now, and astonished that wee little Sabrina has grown into a third grader. They shared memories of my Diva Girl–her boundless energy, her joie de vivre, her excitement and enthusiasm and just all around sparkle.
It was really nice, hearing all of these people speak so warmly about my Diva Girl. Not just because it’s always nice to hear people say complimentary things about your kid, but because, listening to them, I got to see her through fresh eyes. Instead of a tween who has spent more than her fair share of time whining and complaining about homework and money and the general unfairness of the world lately, I was able to see that other Sabrina again–the positive side of the Diva Girl. The girl who lights up the room with her smile, whose laugh is literally irresistible. The girl who is brimming with ideas, and questions, and optimism, and just plain life. I got to see her sparkle again. It had been dulled recently by battles over homework, or chores, or just the beginning skirmishes in the the process of growing up, but today, in speaking with these people who remember her from a different time, it was blindingly bright.
Today reminded me of a lot of things; mostly that I’m very blessed: To have a job I love. Colleagues I like and respect. And Diva Girl to come home to at the end of the day.
(Thank Kate for the title. I was going to be lazy and not bother with one.)