And they were all very happy to see me, which is nice. I was with my lady, and this exchange happened with one of them:
Kid: Is that your wife or your girlfriend?
Me: Or my girlfriend? Yes, my wife is at home.
Kid: Well, I didn’t know if you were married or not.
I had a good laugh at this. I thought he was being funny, because I thought everyone in that school knew I was married.
But something else happened that was way cooler. One of the students I had in one of my classes, and he was a bit of a pain in my butt for the first few weeks. We would argue every once in a while, and I had to figure out how to get him to work with me. He wasn’t a bad kid, just mouthy. And I did always like him.
I saw him a year later in the hallways, and he told me that he was going to go off and be in the military. I told him that he should do it, and he would do well with it. I believed that he would do well.
Well, he was there in the group, and he shook my hand. I know it was only a year that had passed since he told me he was going into the military, but he looked a lot older. He seemed happier. He told me he got injured and was going back to finish basic training. I told him to keep it up, and keep going with it.
And before he left, I told him that I was proud of him. I will never forget the smile that he gave me before he left.
