And Now My Son Calls Me Mrs. Boyd, Too!

Knox and I pose on our first day of school together.

How can this be?  How can Knox already be old enough to be in my 4th/5th grade class?  And how can Kinley now be a high school freshman?  Wasn't she just in this class the other day?  It sounds so very cliché, but it's amazing how quickly they've grown.

So here we go!  Another two years of having my own child in my class!  But this time will be different.  First of all, I've done this before and learned a thing or two along the way.  Things like the way I shouldn't withhold deserved praise and privileges from Knox just because I'm worried about what other parents will say.  I waited for 360 days to give Kinley an award that she deserved far sooner, and I won't make that kind of mistake again with Knox.  Or things like the fact that the parents of my other students are probably less concerned about my teaching my own child than I am.

And secondly, Knox is a very different child than Kinley.  He is more affectionate, more sensitive, and more completely oblivious than Kinley, bless his heart.  I used to joke with Mrs. Harshbarger, Knox's 2nd/3rd teacher, that she had two years to fix him so that he wouldn't drive me nuts when he moved into my class.  I think she did the best she could.  We'll see if it was enough!

But regardless of the way Knox couldn't find an elephant in a  walk-in closet, his sweetness makes up for a lot.  The other night, he was telling me why he's the luckiest kid in the class.  "Because," he said as he wrapped his arms around my waist, "nobody else gets to kiss the teacher!"

Bless his heart.