My day today...

This morning was a tough day....

As I went to drop my students off at gym this morning, a little girl of mine came to me crying. When I asked her what was wrong she told me that her aunt had passed last night. She said, "I just want to see her one more time. I don't know how to do this. I feel so sad." :( Did I mention that she's 7 years old? Wow. Of course I got pretty emotional too.I mean I do anyway when one of my students cries that earnestly but today it just ripped me in half because she was saying out loud so many of the things that I have and hold inside of me every day you know?

Quite honestly today has been the first time that I've been able to pass on some of so-called "strength" to someone else. In these past 5 weeks or so, everyone has been comforting us. Today I felt like I could speak from my experience and help someone else for a change when I was speaking from my heart to her about how I'm sad too and that it's normal and okay for us to feel that way. I told her that even when it hurts so bad that we cry it's just another way for us to show that person that we cared about them and loved them. Miraculously on facebook today, someone shared the quote of, "People cry, not because they are weak. It's because they have been strong for too long." So true huh? I later took the little girl to our school counselor so that she could talk more. It breaks my heart that she has to feel any measure of what I'm feeling right now but I am somehow thankful (I don't know if that's the word to use or not?) but that she was able to talk to someone that is feeling how she is right now.