Everyday and then bam they shock you

So everyday I give everything to my students. I am there friend, their teacher, and sometimes a mother figure in their lives. Between 200 students it is draining. Someone always needs something. Someone needs to be heard and listened to. Someone wants to give you an excuse. Someone cannot find their lunch money. Some of them need to know they can trust you. Some of them need a friend. Someone to take care of their boo boos (yes, they still need that in middle school.) They just need something from me all the time. And guess what? I LOVE IT!!! I thrive off of them needing me. I live and breathe it. I makes me feel like I have a purpose and it makes me feel like I am making a difference in these kids life. I really truly love it. And so everyday it is them draining everything out of me and exhausting me. But everyday I am thankful and blessed that I am exhausted because I am giving everything to my kids.

And then you have a day like I did this week. Where the kids saw me....truly saw me. They fought through there self-centered normal attitudes (which face it teenagers are self-centered) and they saw that their teacher was in pain. Some kids responded by being good which was more than I could ever ask from them normally. Some of them stayed in between classes and told me jokes. Some of them gave me hugs. Most of them just smiled and told me I was a great teacher. One of them actually wrote me a thank you note. And I realize that I do reach the kids and in return they help me and they strengthen me. I don't know if I could have made it through that awful day without them. So everday they take and take from me and that is fine especially one all the sudden they have one day where they give it all back to me plus some. I am truly blessed to have them in my life.