Learning, Laughter, and Love in Middle School English

I remember when my oldest son went to middle school.  I was a mess.  I was so anxious about whether he'd like his teachers, make friends, and be able to handle all of the work.  I think I was one of those parents that drive teachers crazy. No, I WAS one of those parents. I emailed teachers with questions that I could have asked my son (even when I asked him, I didn't trust his answer).  I checked his grades every day.  I constantly asked him whether or not he was caught up on homework. I asked him who he ate lunch with. If he didn't like a teacher, I wanted him transferred to another class.   If he messed up, I wanted to fix it.  If he didn't turn in an assignment on time, I wanted the teacher to let him turn it in late.  If he forgot his lunch, I wanted my husband to bring it to him (thankfully he refused). If he wasn't starting his homework when I thought he should,  I was practically putting the pencil in his hand and opening the textbo...

A few weeks ago my husband and I went out for our date night.  We went to Slater's 50/50.  A friendly man with a beard took our order and assisted us in our menu selections.  When he brought the bill he said, "I know this is weird, but I think you were my middle school teacher." I stared at his bearded face, focused on his piercing blue eyes, and said, "What's your name?"  He answered, "Matt-"   I interrupted him before he could say his last name by saying it for him.  "Oh my gosh!  You remember me?" he asked in disbelief.   "Of course I remember you!" I responded.  I also remembered that he was raised by a single mom who had him when she was just fourteen-years old.  I remembered  he had  hair that had been bleached white from the sun, and  he was a total jokester.  He was my student in 1996 when he was in eighth-grade.  He proceeded to apologize for being such a "bad" kid and troublemaker.  I ...