Here’s the thing about teaching: it’s the most magical, wonderful, and rewarding job out there. Every year, you get to love, laugh, and learn alongside precious souls who genuinely love you. You’re truly each other’s biggest fans! But the best part of teaching? Well, it’s also the worst.
Ask any teacher—once spring rolls around, you can’t help but feel that inevitable heartbreak creeping up. In just a few weeks, these kids, your kids, will move on. Another teacher will get to listen to their precious stories, watch their faces light up when they learn something new, and receive those “melt in your arms” hugs. They will love another teacher, maybe even more than they loved you, and you’ll slowly become a memory from their past. You love that for them; they have to move to bigger and better things. But it’s still hard.
As I come up on my tenth year of teaching, I find myself reflecting on the 300 bonds I’ve formed. The first students I ever taught are graduating from high school this year! Time flies, but those memories stay close. I hope my students know I’m always rooting for them, and I think of them with each new group that passes through my classroom. I hope they remember they’re always welcome back for a quick visit, hug, or trip to my candy jar, no matter how old they are. The memories my students and I make together are among the most precious moments in our lives, and time can never take that away. I pray my love follows them throughout their lives, and that every once in a while, something reminds us of each other.
Each year, elementary-aged children steal and break my heart, all in 10 quick months. And each year, I’ll let them. Over and over.
Because the worst part about teaching? Well, it’s also the best.
by Celeste Yvonne 
by Tash Guthrie 
