As a pediatric nurse, I’ve always had a MAD respect for teachers and what they do. We used to joke as nurses, when the kids got their kid energy back it was time to go home! Teachers ALWAYS have healthy kid energy and they have to teach and push through their days. Nurses and teachers are very similar professions. They are both selfless, time consuming, and professions of the heart. They both require love, compassion, empathy and time management.
There are lots of nurses and teachers that do not have much of those things. They are what I call “book nurses” they are good at the black and white, straight textbook things. They can memorize and take tests well but when it came to the human part-they did not do well. I was never that nurse. I was a very average academic nursing student. I went into nursing to help people, kids specifically. To form lifelong relationships and make a difference in someone’s life.
I’ve always been a person that kids have been drawn to and visa versa. For the entirety of my life-people in general are drawn to me. I find complete strangers that need to vent in the grocery stores, kids with special needs come up to me at random to chat, I’ve always thought “maybe I just have a friendly demeanor that draws people in or maybe God just had me in the right place.” I’ve always strived to have that demeanor and I strive to pass that along to my kids. I constantly preach to “shine your light for Jesus.” Am I perfect at that? Absolutely not. I lose grace and dim my light frequently but it’s a huge priority of mine to be there for people, to offer support and make sure they are not alone, and I pray daily for God to help me with that. I know that God put that trait in my heart, and I do my best to keep it there. With that being said, everyone you run into is not like that and that’s difficult for someone like me to understand sometimes! But when you find a person like that, hold them close. I’d be willing to bet you that IF you find someone like that, they are a nurse or a teacher (or maybe both)!
Let me tell you, if you find a teacher like that-spoil her, thank her and make sure you tell her how much she is appreciated because you can bet that God sent her straight to you! I have a child that is not a “mainstream” child. He is different. His brain is different, his interests are different, and he is not a kid that enjoys school. He’d much rather be getting his hands dirty fixing something or being outside on a dirt bike or four-wheeler. Let’s be real for a moment-those are the kids that get in trouble at school because they follow their own set of rules. We’ve been lucky to have been blessed with some pretty amazing teachers since he started school. I’m talking 3 teachers that have taken the time to understand my child. Teachers that love my child as their own. Teachers that encourage my child. Teachers that give him grace but still make him toe the line. Teachers that he adores and that adore him. Teachers that come and watch him play baseball on their own time. Teachers that encourage me as a mother. That give me grace as a mother, that remind me to give myself grace. Those teachers don’t know truly know what a blessing they are. Those teachers may not understand that they are EXACTLY where God wants them to be. These are the teachers that don’t get credit. These teachers put in so much work and effort and they are just not noticed sometimes.
I can tell you that I am the mama that strives to form a personal relationship with my kid’s teachers. I keep communication open. I make sure they know that I am doing my best to support them at home too. I make sure they know I take their work serious. I do my best to send whatever they need. I may just be that mom that they see another message from and think “what does she possibly want now?” I do my best to make sure those teachers see that someone sees them and what they are doing. They see that they know what a true blessing they are to our family day in and day out.
Teachers! I see you! I see everything you do! The time you spend away from your family, the love you give, the encouraging words you send to our children, the fun things you do, the hours and hours you put in to make sure they have a core memory.
YOU are the real MVPs. YOU are teaching our youth and molding them into the adults that will rule our world! So, if no one has told you lately, YOU ARE DOING A FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC JOB!!!!!
