Crying a river...

These are two poems which my daughter got sent home with on her last day of kindergarten.  I cried my eyes out.

"You are a very special person
And you should really know,
How I loved to be your teacher,
How fast the year did go.

Please come back and visit me
As through the grades you grow,
Try hard to learn all you can,
There is so much to know.

One thing I tried to teach you
To last your whole life through,
Is to know that you are special,
Just because you are you.

Good luck in First Grade!
I am very proud of you!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I Give You Back Your Child"

I give you back your child, the same child
you confidently entrusted to my care last fall.
I give them back pounds heavier, inches taller, months wiser,
more responsible, and more mature than they were before.
I give them back reluctantly, for we have spent 10 months together
in the narrow confines of our small classroom.

We have grown close and have become a lasting part of each others lives.
We have lived, loved, laughed, played, studied, learned, cried,
and yes, even disagreed with each other.
But in the end, we have enriched each others lives beyond expectation.

Ten years from now if we meet on the street, your child and I,
a light will shine in our eyes, and a smile will form on our lips,
and together we will remember the bond that we once shared so many years ago.

 I give them back.
Take care of them for the will always be precious to me.
Remember that I shall always have an interest in your child.
I want to know where they go, what they do,
and I can't wait to see what they become.
In my heart I will always share their joys and sorrows
because we have become life long friends.

It has been an honor and my privilege to be your child's Kindergarten teacher.

Author Unknown

~*~*~*~*~

That last poem is so true, when I see my teachers from all those years ago, my eyes light up and a smile comes across my face.  Teachers play a major role in our lives, especially as young children.