An Open Letter to My Son's Kindergarten Teacher

I wrote the following poem on the eve of my oldest son's first day of kindergarten in 2016.  Teachers, families send us their whole world when they send their children to school.  And, the whole world needs us to tender them well.

Dear Teacher,

Today, I present you with my Town.

This boy,

This child,

Is the whole world to me.

I’m his mother.

The very best of me has gone into him.

You did not see him take his first steps.

You missed his first words.

The way his eyes lit up the first time he tried a banana

You never heard the peals of giggles my baby released when something tickled his fancy.

The way he stuck out his elbows and wiggled his bottom to the chicken dance

The day he ran his first race

His first trip to the movies

His first and second soccer goal

Dancing in the rain

Flying a kite

And the thousands of other seemingly insignificant little things that mothers revel in when their babies are small

I was there for all of that.

Those memories are mine, locked tight in my heart, steeling me for days like this.

A day that marks firsts that I will not witness

In these miraculous moments, you will be by his side.

The first time he recognizes the letters of the alphabet

The first time he reads

The first time he answers a question correctly

Totals up sums

Makes an elementary school friend

Deals with adversity

Moving through a system in which he will be measured, grouped, and counted

Today, I give him to you… though only for a few hours each day.

Be gentle with this little soul.

His whimsy, his imagination, his humor

All are fragile.

You have the power to magnify these gifts.

He is more than a size, a label, or a number.

You understand every child holds a universe of potential.

Let your light beckon him,

Like the star of Bethlehem lit the Magi’s path

Toward the salvation of epiphany

Thank you for being the first of many to help him become the man he is meant to be.

Sincerely,

Mom (formerly known as "Mommy")

Needless to say, his teachers took excellent care of our Town!  I strive every day to care for my preservice teachers in the way that my son's teachers tendered him.