What Makes Me Smile

In a dilemma on Monday morning, I asked a coworker to give me a challenge for the week. She said, “Pickle.” Due to a conversation that I wrote about a few weeks ago, I immediately started laughing. So…“Write about and draw something--or some things--that make you smile--that make you feel happiness or joy inside,” became the question of the week.

We received a lot of answers.

As I read through these answers this afternoon, I found myself smiling quite a bit. The most common yet nonetheless wonderful answer was friends and family. I never tire of hearing about how much my students love their families…and I never stop praying that their families love them back.

What jumped out at me this afternoon, though, were the unique answers—the ones that made me either laugh or cry, or the ones that were wise beyond their years.
In the laughter category, I read:
• “Unicorns make me happy because they are like horses and they pupe rainbows.”
• “I smile when I do my terminator voice.”

In the wisdom category, I read:
• “A day without laughter is a day wasted,”
• “What makes me happy is friends and family. As long as I have those I am fine.”
• “I smile when I fail because it shows that I’m not afraid to make mistakes.”

In the tears category, I read:
• “What makes me happy is God. Because he mead a eather (earth) and mead (made) me and my failmy. I thank God for what he dune for me. When I got in a carasint (car accident) I thot my grammom was not ok. But God bless me. That is a good God. And that makes me happy. Aman. If you pray, God will make a change.”
• “What makes me smile is that I see my mom and I see my dad and my brothers. What makes me smile is playing and fishing and just having fun with my family. What makes me smile is playing at school and having fun. What makes me smile is playing and dancing with Ms. Deaton. What makes me smile is playing with Mr. G. What makes me smile is doing art with Ms. K and what makes me smile is reading with Mrs. H and what makes me smile is doing stuff with Mrs. A.T. and what makes me smile is knowing my teacher loves me.”
I literally wept when I read that last line. Honestly, I find myself wiping away tears as I write this now.

Because, friends, this is what life is about. The doing is great. The special things. The actions, activities, and events. The plans we make. The prayers we pray. The gifts we give. Those are all great. But when it all comes down to it, the consistent being is what matters—the being the presence of grace, hope, forgiveness, journey, and faith in such a way that those around us—friends, family, students, patients, clients, colleagues, strangers—know that we love them.

“What makes me smile is knowing that my teacher loves me.”

May that statement be said of me…

And may it be said of you, too, friend…whatever it is that you teach—in life or in a classroom—every day.

Aman.