Once Again, a Teacher's Grief

        I have searched for the words to convey the nightmare of this week, but there truly are none. Never in my life did I think that I would bury two precious students within 11 months of each other. We, as a school family, were still healing from the tragic loss of our beautiful Bree, when suddenly our infectious Eric was ripped away from us. 

       As a teacher, the kids expect you to have answers. But this week, I simply had none. I asked the same hard questions, “Why?” We sat in shock that this was happening. Our hearts broke. We wrote and colored through the tears. We got lost in the memories. We rearranged rooms and plans because this was not supposed to happen. We broke in each other’s arms. We ran out of tissues. 

Last year, I wrote this “A Teacher’s Grief”
It's hard.
It's beyond hard to see your big, tough boys collapse in your arms. 
It's hard. 
It's beyond hard to see the life in their eyes stunted. 
It's hard. 
It's beyond hard to not have any answers for them. 
It's hard.
It's beyond hard experiencing this loss with your kids. 
It's hard. 
A parent should never have to bury their child; a teacher their student; a student their best friend. 
….and those still convey this…..

       While this week has been nothing short of a nightmare, let me share some of the observations I had this week, therefore, when you are worried about today’s youth and the future generations, remember this:

The junior class--his class--asked to wear red today (his favorite color and nickname) and to donate the money from the jean day to his family. When I drove up Friday morning, there was a crowded line to the bus stop of kids, all in red and waiting to pay. I sat in my car and cried. It was beautiful. There is never a line like that. Kids, who don’t have, were just donating money. 

When 200+ teenagers are quiet, it is deafening and humbling. 

Boys are not afraid to cry when they see you are broken. 

Laughter and memories truly help the healing process.

Kids have rallied to create a GoFundMe account for the family. They have also expressed an interest in raising money to finish paying for his letterman jacket and class ring for the family to have. 

They created a beautiful tribute to Eric on his locker with pictures, post-its, and flowers.

They consoled me.

“Hey, I know we don’t really hang out, but if you need a ride to the funeral, you can ride with me.”

       The level of compassion these kids have in such a tragic time gives me hope. It also reminds me of His grace and that His palm will never let us go. We may never understand why, but we rest in the fact that God’s ways our not our ways. We rest in the fact that the RHS family will heal and be stronger than ever. We rest in the fact that God is moving at RHS. We rest in the fact that we are a family. 


       But, we know that Eric’s spirit lives on and we know that he accomplished greatness before he left this earth. As we prepare to bury another one of our family members, another one of our kids, another one of our friends, we covet your prayers. This journey has only just begun, once again.

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