Teaching.
Educating.  Leading.  Growing.  Learning.  Inspiring.

I was born for this.

Was born to this calling.  Was born for such a time as this, for such a time as now.

For such a time as five days a week, from 9-4.  And then, for such a time as even more than boxed-in hours.  For late nights and early mornings.

I was born for this.

I was born to be that friendly, cheerful face- to greet those precious children of all ages with a welcoming smile.  A warm hug.  An inquiring question.  A thoughtful comment or two.

Was born to hold chubby little hands, to look intently into blue-eyed baby faces.  To hear their sweet and innocent stories.  To hear stories not so simple, of lives more complicated than my own.  To hear stories told that bring me to my knees.  That haunt me in my waking hours. That propel me to advocate for change.

I was born for this.  For opening up milk cartons.  Cutting yogurt packages into a slit at the top.  Passing out pizza slices.   Issuing band-aids.  Umpteen-dozen band-aids each and every day.

I was born to look at ‘owies’- with a professional’s eye.

Was born to read books- piles and piles of glorious books.  To read them with expression, passion and joie de vivre!  To saturate the room with them.  To buy them by the dozen!  To relish children’s laughter as I read favorites again and again.

I was born for this.

I was born to find joy in everyday pleasures.  To find joy in the mundane, the ordinary.  Joy.  In reciting the alphabet, counting to twenty and playing with play-doh.  In watching the weather and growing bean plants and using scented markers.  In playing with puppets and using brand-new crayons.

Joy!

I was born for this.

Was born to fight for the underdog, to defend the rights of the under-privileged.  To hear the stories and not turn away.  To look into hearts and ask the difficult questions.

I was born for this.

I was born to do hard things.  To make tough calls.  To follow through.  To see a story through to its ending.  To never give up.

To always hope.  To always protect.  To always believe.

I was born for this.

I was born to not go down quietly.  To be a loud voice, if need be.  To shout it from the roof-tops or whisper it in the quiet of a room.  I was born for this.

I was born to be a builder of blocks, a builder of lives.  A mender of hearts- a champion of dreams.

I was born for this.

I was born to teach.  To be the teacher.  And true.  It has not always been the easiest space I’ve ever inhabited, nor has it always been the most pleasant.  For teaching is hard work.  And it is a tremendous responsibility.  A sacrifice.  But teaching has been one of the most rewarding things I have ever done.  Because the joy I have found in giving and receiving, in knowing and in learning.  In understanding the stories of people’s lives.  Young and old alike.  This honor is virtually unmatched in nearly any other act of service I have ever done, apart from being a mother to my four precious children.
But then again.    Once a mother, always a mother.  I am mother always.  Whether I be mother at home or at school.  During hours or after hours.  On week days or on the week-ends.  A mothers work is never done.  Much like a teacher’s.

And I was born to be both.

Because I was born to nurture, love and care.  Was born to inspire.  To challenge and motivate. To teach and mother.

I was born for this.