Not Forgotten

Everyday, all around me, are reminders of those I love, all of whom are for that moment varying degrees of distance away from me. My son. My wife. My former and current students. On my desk is my favorite picture of Babs and me, from our early months of dating, a photo of Babs on our honeymoon and the cutest picture of Elijah. It pains me to leave them for so much time--during the week, I'm lucky if I see Elijah for 30 minutes a day. And on days when I stay over in Columbus, two days may pass before I can be with my Little Fellow again. But they are not forgotten. They are always in my heart.

Also there, are the index cards I use for assigning seats and other classroom tasks--each card has a name of a student. This year the cards have a new, additional purpose. Each day, I pull a new pair of cards, one from a stack of former students, one from a pack of current students. That day, I commit to praying for those two students. The old ones may be long gone from my classroom and the new ones perhaps emotionally distant from that super-strict "mean teacher" but they are not forgotten.

I like this collection of photos on the bookshelf next to my desk. Students from the recent past (the two photos on the left and right ends), the distant past (the black framed photo of those great kids from the 2002-2003 9th grade school year), and even my very first class (the ornate frame has a photo of my some of my fifth grade students when I taught in Chuuk). A sampling of dozens of students I have not forgotten.

The hall of fame. (I'm missing three classes--the photos got lost in the move, but fortunately I'd scanned those photos and so I can reprint them and fill in the missing spots soon). My students know that when they leave, they too will joing t this wall of honor, and they will not be forgotten.