"God bless you."

What a refreshing phrase to hear in a public school towards the end of a very long day of conferences!

The dad of one of my TM kids, who is one of the top in her class, came by for a conference after our dinner break. Before I even started talking, he commented on the fact that we are teaching without a contract right now and how disgusted he was with that fact.

I asked him if he had any concerns about his daughter in my class and the joking started from there. He asked, very seriously, if his daughter was talking too much or majorly misbehaving in class. I shot back at him that she was one of the worst kids in my class!

We chatted for a few moments about what a great kid she is and he said that it was all from her mother, who is the serious one; he's the goofball in the family. I then told him that it took a combination of the two personalities to make a kid like his daughter work. He agreed with the comment, "It's a God thing." Yes!!

We chatted for a few more minutes about how she was doing in class. Before leaving, he thanked me again for my time and doing what I do - teaching - even with how little I get back in return. I thanked him and he left with the words, "God bless you."

*sigh* Ahhh...

Music to my ears. :)

I think I can get through the last couple of hours of conferences with that one.

I know that he, nor any other student's parent, will ever read this, but I still want to say it:

Thank you for your thanks - I don't think you will ever know how much your verbal appreciation for me and my profession means to me, but that and your blessing at the end made all the difference in the world to me today.

Thank you. :)