Slice of Life: Just Saying Hello

(This is for the Slice of Life challenge, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. We write on Tuesdays about the small moments in the larger perspective … or is that the larger perspective in the smaller moments? You write, too.

 

I was shuffling papers, trying to find something. I had a meeting in an hour.

“Mr. H.”

I held up a give-me-a-sec gesture. The paper seemed important in that moment. The voice, a distraction.

“Mr. H?”

I stopped, looked up. She had come in from recess, all smiles. She bounced on the heels of her feet.

“Yes?”

“Hi!”

“Hi.”

“I just wanted to say hello. Hi!”

She added a wave. I chuckled.

“Thank you. Hi!”

“Thank you! You’re welcome!”

She scooted off, skipping a bit, and I started to go back to my task of paper-finding, smiling to myself about the curious nature of kids, and the impact of kindness.

Peace (in the moment),
Kevin

PS — a version of this was also shared as a small story in another space.

19 Comments
  1. How important it was to her to use her voice in that moment. Such simple joy in it. We all need more of it. See how it lasts …

  2. Proof that one of the biggest impacts we have on our students is our relationship with them. One of the joys of being a school librarian is getting to work with every single student in the building. The hellos in the hallway make me feel like a superstar. And they are a sign that I must be doing something right. 🙂

  3. Love this slice and love that you left us with kindness. We need to slow down, remember it will all get done and embrace the moment we are in. Thank you for the reminder.
    Clare

  4. It’s taking a moment to listen, no matter how busy you are. It’s making eye contact to demonstrate your attentiveness. It’s allowing another soul to share a space in time with you, no matter how brief. That’s what it means to be a teacher.

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