A Tribute

Teachers come across many students.

There are kids who make you cringe; kids who drag you down; kids who make you laugh; kids who break your heart; kids who you wish would find their way to a boat that sails for a deserted island; kids who you wish you could scoop up and protect forever; kids you never want to go on to the next grade so they can stay with you; kids you want to move to the next grade tomorrow.

They throw every single one of these kids into a classroom and their little eyes stare at you and plead:

Teach me.

Help me.

Let me grow.

Love me.

Some you remember.

Some you don't.

Faces are often ingrained but names forgotten.

Neither escaped me today.

She had a purse--it was really more of a shoulder bag. It was blue and pink striped. The Yo Gabba Gabba characters were printed all over it. "There's a party in my tummy" was written next to the little green one.

"What in the world is that?" I asked.

"You don't know who Yo Gabba Gabba is!?!" she replied.

Clearly, I was out of touch with the youth of the world.

I was pregnant with Will. It wasn't long before I did know who they were; but she introduced me to them.

She would come back and visit. Her mom married her friend's dad. It was the same situation as my sister and I, Mindy, who I don't ever refer to as my step-sister anymore. She is my sister, as much as anything I've known.

I wished for her to have that.

In my class, she got As, she got to go Europe, she stayed after class and talked about all of the things teenaged girls want to talk about, with an underlying message for me.

Teach me.

Help me.

Let me grow.

Love me. 


I saw her in the fall, as our 8th graders visited the high school. She looked so cool, so put together, so sure of herself--confident and just...lovely.

"Mrs. Kauffman! Hi!"

We exchanged how are yous and the like.

And today she is gone.

According to the article, she didn't see the semi when she pulled out.

According to the article, she'll be buried in her prom dress. It's blue and pink--like the purse she carried when she was in my class.

So for the rest of this morning and afternoon I've been preoccupied. I've been thinking all the usual stuff you think: so young, not fair, too short.

And I think about the role I played in this beautiful girl's life. Small. Insignificant maybe.

Of all the eyes that stare at us, it's haunting to think that something like this would happen. So we don't.

But it did happen.

I apologize for the debbie downer post. I'm just...sad.

Stay present. Give the moment to the people in front of you. Let them be your "now."