True Love on Valentine's Day

My post on Facebook today:  Today, I was having a bad day. One of my students came up after class, hugged me, and told me she hoped my day got better. It did... right then. :)

And then I added:  "Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." ~Leo Buscaglia

When I taught Kindergarten and 1st grade, I got hugs all the time.  I used to tell people that's why I kept teaching those little ones:  What other job could I have where every day someone (usually more than one someone) told me they loved me and that I was beautiful?  Where else would I receive so much love just by going into work each day?

Now I teach 6th grade.  Occasionally, I get compliments from students, but they don't come often and it's really more like "regular" working where it's generally unexpected and surprising every time.  I love my job for different reasons now. (I won't go into all that in this entry... maybe another time.)  It's the difference between working with 5-year olds and working with 12-year olds.  Both are trying to assert their independence, both are trying to figure out the world, both are learning new things every day without even realizing it.  The 5-year olds, though, aren't self-conscious pre-teens.  They give love so freely and without caring what others think of their shows of affection.  Sometimes when you're 12, it's very uncool to show affection... especially to a teacher.  Plus the teachers aren't as prone to be showing affection to kids that are as tall as they are (or often taller than they are, in my case).

So today, when J took just a quick moment of her time and hugged me in front of her peers and told me she hoped my day got better... wow.  It touched me more than I could have imagined it would, and probably more than she realizes.  I used to ask my own kiddos every day to tell me the best and the worst thing that happened at school.  Today my worst thing is hard to discern, but my best thing... that's easy.

*****
Since this is my Diabeetus blog, I probably should mention that the only chocolate I ate today was one piece from a box of sugar-free chocolates.  I ate relatively well and avoided all the Valentine's Day treats that float around a school on February 14th, then had supper with Bill and the kiddos at Chipotle.  I had a bowl instead of a burrito, chose brown rice (and asked for a half-portion of it). I had chicken, tomato salsa and corn salsa, sour cream, cheese, lettuce.  My blood sugar at this moment is 224.  Next time, I'll choose tomato OR corn salsa... and I probably don't need to eat the whole thing... and I could probably get rid of the cheese... I'm definitely a work in progress.

Wait!!  I forgot!  I did eat a chocolate covered strawberry that a co-worker offered me this morning.  *sigh*