Marieke

There are some things that no amount of training can prepare you for. Some things that, no matter how strong you think you might be, you are just not ready to deal with.

The death of a student is one of those things.

This weekend, a former student of mine passed away from complications related to a seizure. She had been in my third period class last year while I was student teaching, and would often stop by my classroom this year to visit. Earlier in the year, she admonished me for not having any posters on the walls of my classroom, so she and a friend made two posters for me, which are now proudly displayed.

The mood at the middle school has been somber and, at times, completely heartwrenching. On Monday, I could barely even get through a sentence all day. That day was spent in mourning for most of us. Lesson plans, state testing...none of it mattered at that point. Today we began the process of returning to normal. Yet something is still missing.

At various points throughout the past two days, I would just stop for a moment and stare at the posters she had made for me. Many thoughts have been running through my mind. This was unexpected. And it was not fair. Over the last two years, I have gotten to know her and her family well. This one hurts.

We were blessed by an angel named Marieke. And I feel honored to have been her teacher.