One of my favorite things about teaching kids is watching them grow off the mat, and one of my favorite moments happened a little more than four years ago.
One of our newer students came in with a new glow I hadn’t seen on her face before. She’s always been quiet and reserved, but has really started opening up in class as of late. “How was your day, kiddo?” I asked, and she couldn’t wait to answer.
“Great!” she said, “I FINALLY made a friend at school!” You could tell that she’d overcome a big social hurdle and couldn’t be more proud of herself.
I smiled and said “That’s awesome! Sometimes it just takes a bit to find the good ones, ya know?”
She laughed, nodded and trotted off to get in line for class. A couple of minutes later, she’s retelling her story to one of the other kids in class with even more enthusiasm this time. I’m not sure who was smiling bigger, her or me lol.
Moments. Milestones. Memories.