This Moment

My daughter is almost fourteen months old and she goes through each day as though she is on a mission. A mission to get into everything and go everywhere that she can. You leave a door open and she will find it. You leave a cabinet unlocked and she will empty the cabinet for you.

Fourteen months is a wonderful time of life. Along with all of the  new skills she is learning we get to deal with molars.  Teething is not something we were ever warned about as new parents. Molars, in my limited experience,  are not fun! Now, I know every child is different and mine does not match some of the horror stories I have head, but this is still not always a great time. There have been many sleepless nights, cranky afternoons, bites (I'm still amazed she can bite thru jeans) and early mornings.

Tonight I was laying in bed trying to get my daughter to fall back asleep. She has her head on my shoulder and her arm wrapped around me. It was incredibly adorable  and peaceful and a calm washed over me. It made me realize how awesome this moment is. This moment, for me, makes it all worth it. The cranky behavior,  being awake for hours in the middle of the night and even the biting. It's all worth it for this moment. These moments are one of the best parts of being a mom and they bring me such joy.

What moments make you feel like this with your students or your job in general? What moments make it worth it? What makes it worth dealing with their cranky behavior, their rude comments and mean behavior? What makes it worth all of the hard work, time and energy?

I can't answer it for you and every teacher  will have a slightly different answer. For me, the moments when my students are grooving as a group and creating wonderful music, that makes it worth it. It may not happen often but it makes my skin tingle and my heart happy.  Seeing my kids grow and thrive makes it worth it.

Kids will be kids. They are learning and growing each day and sometimes they will mess up. These mess ups may make life more challenging, but without these times I don't think we would fully appreciate  the great times?

What makes it worth it?  Being a teacher or a parent is hard. Many times are challenging, but many times are wonderful too.