I Miss My Kiddos

Since the start of the school I have REALLY been missing my little 1st graders. Maybe it's because I'm not teaching and maybe it's because I'm with 6th graders all day, but either way, I miss them! (For those of you that don't know, which is probably most of you, I got a TA job at a local elementary school with 6th grade. More on that later.) I miss their innocence, I miss their sweetness, I miss their inquisitiveness, I miss their jokes they make up, I miss how much fun I had with them, I miss the funny things they say (that they have no idea is funny), I miss how much they loved me, and I miss hearing "Mrs. Petersen, you are my favorite teacher ever!" and "Mrs. Petersen, you are my best friend!" I wish so much I could see them and teach them again! Because of all of this, I decided to send an email to all of the parents of my students from last year that I still had emails for. I told them how much I miss their kiddos and that I would love to hear how things are going and how 2nd grade is. I got a few responses back already and let me just say this is why I loved my class so much!

Mrs Petersen,
Thanks for your email and for being my teacher. You were a good teacher. I miss you a lot. I hope you had a fun birthday on august 28. When I was reading your email I was about to cry. Bye. - Taylor (one of my kids)

This is a portion of an email from one of my kids mom's.
When I picked her up the first day she said "mom I wish Mrs Petersen would come visit us, but she can't she is in Texas and her baby is in Heaven. Is Texas closer to heaven? Is it far to drive to Texas? Can we go there?" I told her sometimes people move and it's sad we miss them but we all have to live life and move on. I was just telling my husband how much she must really admire you as a teacher and individual. She would write a letter to you everyday and we would find it laying around. The spelling was not all there but we knew what she was talking about. She was so heart broken about your baby and we know it's because she really love you. I know I didn't come around much to get to know you better but I've always loved your smile everytime I came by for Daphne. (I shed a few tear after reading this)


This one is from another mom:(I changed the name of the student in this one)
It is great hearing from you! Johnny loved you as a teacher. I think he would have traded me in if I would have agreed to it. He had a lot of fun in your class and I appreciate the patience you had with him. I could tell that you gave them a comfortable zone to learn in and it meant a lot to me and it really made learning fun for him. One of the first things he mentioned is that his new teacher does not laugh (so you must have laughed, which is essential by Johnny's standards). It was so funny because he told us that his new teacher has only smiled twice. Once was when we first went to meet her and she greeted him at the door and the other one was at a girl in his class. He told us all the jokes that he has tried to tell her and said that she did not even crack a smile. (I laughed though because I have never heard his thought processes out loud like that).
Johnny had much sympathy for you. He told us about it and expressed that you had a baby boy. He told us that you named your baby boy too. He told us that you and his grandma both lost your baby boys but that you could both go and visit them.


This is from the best room mom ever! (Hope it is okay that I put this on here Mikki!)
I have been thinking about you ALL WEEK, wishing I could walk into Madisons class and see you there. Her first day of school was good, I'll post on the blog about it tonight so you can check it out. But man do we miss you terribly!!!
Glad to hear you got a job, and yes your way overqualitified to be doing grunt work, you shine as a teacher, and that's where they should put you. Hopefully there will be an opening somewhere that you can move into. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you, those kids are missing out!

Maybe its the self confidence boost, but I just love my little babies and I miss them way more than I thought I would. (and I thought I was going to miss them a lot!) I can't believe they are in 2nd grade now! That seems so old. I am so grateful that I had such a great class last year. Going through all we went through with Zach at the end of the year was so hard, but they made it a little easier. I think it is interesting that a few of them commented on Zach. They had been with me through the whole pregnancy. They were around Zach more than almost anyone else. They would talk about what I should name him (Luke Skywalker was the most wanted name). They would always tell me "I hope you have fun with your baby when he is born." One little boy wrote in his journal about how he would be best friends with my baby and play with him all the time when he was born. They would rub my belly and tell me I was getting bigger because they couldn't wrap their arms around me all the way anymore. My room mom went in and told my kids Monday morning before I had Zach what was happening and she said they were all very sad. When I came back to visit, Mikki, my room mom, had a balloon activity all ready to send notes to Heaven so Zach could read them. (I think I blogged about that already) By the time they wrote their notes and we went outside to let our balloons go, half of the class was crying. In their own little way, they understood what happened to Zach and they were sad about it too. They felt they had lost something. It was a very hard thing for all of them and it really made an impression. I think all of the experiences they had with Zach will not be forgotten anytime soon. For that I am grateful because one of my biggest fears is Zach being forgotten. People forgetting he lived and he is our son. People forgetting all we have been through and how much Zach means to us. I guess as long as Tagg and I remember, nothing else really matters.

I guess that is how the Savior feels. He wants to be known. He wants his sacrifice to be remembered and to be used. He wants us to remember how much He loves us and how much our Father in Heaven loves us and is wanting us to be back with Him. If we could all just remember a little bit more and try a little harder to live our lives righteously. I'm sure that would be a great way to show Him we remember Him. I love my Father in Heaven, I love my Savior, I love Zach and I can't wait to see all of them again one day!


(Notes to Heaven)