validation

yesterday, as i was leaving my morning job for my afternoon job, one of the students in the class came and gave me a goodbye hug.

a little background: i have been in this particular class several times. two weeks ago, i subbed there three days in a row while the teacher was ill. this class is made up of the top 2% of the 5th and 6th graders in the district. all these kids are intelligent and self-confident...but this kid is the most self-confident of them all. i don't mean to say he's cocky, because he's not. he's loud, but he's one of the sweetest kids in the room. yesterday he was prancing around in dark shades because he had just had his eyes dilated. he was convinced he looked like michael jackson. he asked me for my opinion and i told him he needed a glove. so he found some cutesy girl's pink glove and paraded around. it was quite entertaining. shortly after that, his teacher returned and i gathered my things to leave.

"wait! mrs. van! i need to give you a hug!" he proceeded to hug me (and then accidentally elbow me in the nose).

perhaps he hugged me because his teacher had just come in the room and it was a way for him to get attention (because while he's really sweet, he's also an attention-monger). maybe he felt like we bonded that day. maybe he was just hoping i hadn't left a nasty note for his teacher detailing his lack of focus. regardless of his motivation, it was sweet and welcomed by me.

i've learned that subs can often be taken for granted. i've felt pretty blessed in this regard...i sub a lot for teachers who leave good notes and trust my ability to cover for them. however, i've also been on the end that receives very few lesson plans and the expectation that i will make all the copies they need (and who cares what your name is?). it felt pretty darn good to receive the validation that one little hug gave me. maybe i'm still making a difference. even if these aren't "my" kids, i can still be a role model for them.

i probably read way too much into that hug, but i only want to say that it was nice to be noticed.


also, philip and i are leaving for montana tomorrow! bring on the weekend!