Two things happened tonight, Friday, that were amazing. First, we went to a memorial for many of the children that have passed away at Phoenix Children's Hospital, and one of those children, as most of you know, is my perfect niece, Eden Grace Ridgway. The memorial was bittersweet, both beautiful and devastating at once. But more than anything, it made me increasingly grateful for my faith and knowledge that Eden is still a part of our family and that she's still alive and waiting for us to meet her on the other side. Sometimes I even like to think of her taking care of our future children. Since she's perfect, I wouldn't trust anyone more. Even though I only knew her for 4 months when she was on this earth, I love her so much, and she is one of my heroes. Baby Eden, we love you, I can't wait until we are reunited one day!
After the memorial, Jake and I went to Mervyn's looking for whatever I could find for our new house. While I was looking through the jackets, a young boy, about 17, called over to me and came over to me calling, "Miss, Miss!" When I realized he was talking to me, I looked up to see that it was one of my students!! For a teacher that teaches in a public school in their community, this is probably commonplace, but for me, since I teach youth from all over the valley at a Juvenile Detention Center, I never see my students again on "the outs," and if I do see them again, it's a bad thing because it means they're back in jail. Anyhow, I have never seen one of my students in the real world before, and so this was incredible! The best part is that he, Casey, is doing amazingly, working 2 jobs, going to school full-time, and playing on a competitive basketball team. I felt so happy that he not only remembered me, but mostly that he is so awesome and doing so well!!! Talk about the best pay back ever! As teachers we may not get paid much, but we get more pay back than almost any other occupation ever!
