Then it hit me.
She meant my personal blog. This blog. It is true that I have not written in a long while. My life has been filled with responsibilities that consume my every waking hour. Writing a blog post wasn't even in my stratosphere! Besides, I thought, who reads what I write anyway? Apparently many people do. So for the last few days I tried to think about a topic I would want to write about. Nothing presented itself. No worry, I scarcely had time to write. But nagging in the back of my mind was the mere idea that this student reads my blog.
On another day, after arriving at school following a stressful medical test, a barrage of students bombarded me with questions about schoolwork. As I hadn't eaten since the day before, as required by the test, it was all I could do to keep my cool as I refused the questions. "Not now, please." "Save your questions for class. I will answer later." "Whatever it is, it can wait."
I inhaled a small cup of oatmeal and proceeded to my first classroom. As I neared the door, I heard first, then noticed, one of my student's hand puppets peeking around the door frame, cheerfully greeting me. Finally, I was able to smile. This incredible young man went above and beyond to make me laugh. I needed it, and thanked him profusely. I could see on his face how genuinely touched he was that I was so impacted by what he had done for me. I still melt a bit, thinking about it.
The day before a project deadline, I had a steady stream of emails from students begging for extra time. These are conscientious students who are busy with extra-curricular activities. If they didn't care about the project or care about their performance in my class, they would not have asked for the time to go above and beyond rather than merely meet expectations. They could have completed the bare minimum requirements on time, but they want to do more than that. This was a huge compliment, not a display of procrastination.
All in all, my students are trying to show me how much I am loved. There is no paycheck in the world that can equal the value of what my students have gifted me this week. In the face of extreme stress, they have wrapped me in caring. Life is in the details. Take the time to notice.