Today was my son’s last day of first grade. He came home with a backpack bursting with school supplies, an uncontainable smile, and a letter from his teacher, his school-mom.
I was a school-mom, long before I had children of my own.  Day after day, month after month I encouraged, nurtured and loved other peoples’ most precious possessions. Like a parent, sometimes I got frustrated, sometimes I was exhausted and sometimes I was overwhelmed with the tenderness and love that only comes from being a school-mom.
As a parent, handing your child over to a school-mom is hard. Your baby, who once never left your side, now spends the majority of his day with someone else. You hope and pray his school-mom is patient and kind. You pray that she will calm his fears, listen to his stories and be equally enamored by his obsession with football, his infectious laugh and his sensitive heart.
The letter I received today from my son’s teacher touched me both as a parent and a school-mom. I don’t know who wrote it, but it is so heartwarming, I just had to share.
Dear Parents,
I give you back your child, the same child you confidently entrusted to my care last fall. I give him back pounds heavier, inches taller, months wiser, more responsible and more mature than he was then.
Although he would have attained his growth in spite of me, it has been my pleasure and privilege to watch his personality unfold day by day. I give him back reluctantly, for having spent nine months together in the narrow confines of a crowded classroom, we have grown close, have become a part of each other, and we shall always retain a little of each other.
Ten years from now, if your child and I meet on the street, a light will shine to our eyes, a smile to our face and we shall feel the bond of understanding once more, this bond we feel today.
We have lived, loved, laughed, played, studied, learned and enriched our lives together this year. I wish it could go on indefinitely, but give him back I must.
Take care of him, for he is precious.
Remember that I shall always be interested in your child and his destiny, wherever he goes, whatever he does, whatever he becomes.
His joys and sorrows I’ll be happy to share.
To my son’s school-mom. Thank you so much for taking such great care of my son. Thank you for your patience, your talent and your encouragement. My son is so much better for having had you as a teacher.
As a teacher and as a parent, I love this. It’s so true that we keep watching from afar.