Two Came Back

At the end of the last school day before the holiday break, I stepped into the bustling hallway teeming with children racing for the exits and came face to face with two former students who had decided to return to their old stomping ground and in the spirit of Christmas past, visit their old teacher. When the initial joy of seeing them subsided I began to experience a myriad of feelings beginning of course with gratitude for the ability to recall (for the mostpart) the names to match the now grown up faces that I haven't seen in years. Incidentally this 'gratitude' thing kicks in every year after summer and Christmas break as I welcome my students back and shamefully have no choice but to use the phrase "John tell your friend who is sitting next to you on the right that it is his turn to read." Sightings of former students usually begin with the fear factor which is invariably linked to my memory and this only intensifies with each passing year. Once I am secure in the knowledge that the face really does match the name which I have pulled up from the recesses of an old teachers mind,the fun can and most certainly does begin.
The young adults begin the telling of 'their' story and as they talk the years since you've seen each other do a sort of time shifting dance while your memories sway you backwards, their words return you ever so gently to the here and now.
These 'reunions' are unplanned, unscripted and oh so much more meaningful when shared with colleagues who were active participants at the onset of the journey.