Losing Students

I lost one of "my kids" over Christmas break.  He graduated last year.  He was my teacher's aide and spent at least 2 if not 4 hours a day in my room.  It hurts, and it hurts when his friends come in and visit it hurts to see them in pain.  It is not fair that they have to experience this loss at such a young age.    But what helps is talking to them ... and seeing our little community rally around this family.  It is awesome.

He was supposed to stop by for a visit before heading back to the Air Force Academy ... he questioned me with each piece of Air Force flair I had (that my kid was given by a recruiter).  And now each of those pieces feel tied to him.  He forced me to clean my desk completely every couple of weeks.  He liked to stick around and talk about whatever was going on in his life or just shoot the breeze.  He passed his AP Exam and has a star on my wall with his name on it.  I just realized that the geologic time line up in my room may have been from his group during his freshmen year.  I will always picture him sitting near my desk with his mischievous grin ...

And though we cry, and the tears will still come sometimes when we least expect it, he would not want us to be sad.  He would want us to support his family, get our acts together, accomplish all we can, help those we can, and take comfort that he died doing what he loved.