There are golden moments that we hold on to, precious minutes that simultaneously pass all too quickly and yet are illuminated with eternity’s golden light. These “tidbits of heaven” are what we remember when we face their opposite: days when nothing seems to go right, when it seems the whole universe is conspiring against you. During these dark and gloomy times, we need to hold on to the golden times all the more, for they remind us of who we are, of our purpose in life, of why we do what we do, why we tread the path we’ve chosen.
Teacher’s Day is always full of these golden tidbits of precious time.
The chocolates are quickly consumed, the flowers will wilt in a few days’ time. But the precious cards (some written on art paper, some hastily scrawled on intermediate pad) will be treasured by the recipients forever. I have yet to meet a teacher who placed more value on the gift than the accompanying note. It’s those precious tidbits of paper that we keep hidden away in secret places, that we read whenever we’re down or feeling blue. We will NEVER part with these invaluable treasures, for these cannot be bought even with Napoles’ 10 billion pesos. These are expressions of love from our beloved pupils, and we teachers hold them to be sacred items.
They are physical manifestations of golden moments, of the time when a handsome ten-year-old boy danced with his much taller and older teacher under the heat of the sun, right beside the sound system that blared out a Miley Cyrus song. Of the time when a bespectacled third grader sweetly sang to her teacher how much she learned from us. Of the time when a dozen children surrounded their teacher and hugged her tightly, almost to the point of suffocation, and greeted her “Happy Teacher’s Day!”
We teachers may be considered “poor” in terms of finances, but oh, how rich we are in love. And how blessed we are to teach!
In my life, I’ve had several tidbits of heaven… afternoons spent talking to a kindred soul about poetry and philosophy… evenings overwhelmed by majestic, magnificent music performed live by the best artists in the country… but none can compare with a teacher’s golden moments spent in the company of innocent, loving hearts.
Happy Teacher’s Day to all the teachers in the world!
♥♥♥
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