My bake sale fundraiser for my cheerleaders at a local festival began today (and we won't talk about how it went, money wise, right now... the same festival is going on all day (8am-10:30pm) tomorrow, and everyone I have talked to says Saturday is always ridiculously crowded).
Anyways, as I was waiting for the cheer parent who had my tent and tables to show up, I had several former students stop by to say hello. One in particular really caught me off guard.
He was a student I taught about three years ago, and boy did he give me fits when he was in my class. I was pretty sure he was high pretty often. He was always either going out of his way to make my life difficult or sleeping. And I knew his name, but he looked so different, that I was a little afraid to say the name, in case I was wrong. Eyes that were once dark and colorless and glazed were a beautifully vivid topaz blue, with no glaze whatsoever. And they were warm and friendly, almost inviting. Before I could ponder who my visitor was for another moment, he confirmed my suspicions on his identity.
I was flabbergasted. I couldn't believe that he had just walked away from a big group of friends to come talk to me, who he had professed to hate so much not that long ago. I never would have known he was there if he had not walked right up to me.
Here's the cool part: he wanted to make sure I knew he was clean. He told me that he had been placed in alternative school, and subsequently kicked out of alternative school, and that he then decided he needed rehab. He says he went through rehad and had several (I forget the exact number) months sober now.
Not only was he sober, but he was also there to inform me that he has a job interview tomorrow!
I was so proud of him! He even wanted a hug, which I promptly gave him.
Perhaps he was working his 10th step of recovery, saw me, and realized that maybe I should have been on that list. Or maybe he just wanted me to see how much he has turned around. I honestly don't care what the reason he did that was, but I have to say that he made my evening. All of those moments when he and I were at odds were so worth it, just to see such great progress out of someone who had so many problems.
I just wanted to share, because this made me feel better than I have felt in a long time.