‘Before he ended the call, he said to his son, ‘I love you. I’m proud of you. You are capable of big things.’ I choked back tears behind my mask.’: School administrator urges ‘you set the tone for this year’

“I am a people watcher, so airports are my jam.

I just sat here and nonchalantly eavesdropped on this man talking to his son on his first day of school.

His son is doing virtual learning.

He was SO hyped up for him, asking all the questions, ‘Did you have fun? Did you like your teacher? What did your breaks look like? Is your chair comfortable? What’d you have for lunch? Did you get to see and talk to your friends? What are you most excited about?’

Guys, he was so excited for his son. He. Was. Beaming.

Then, he took the phone over to show his son the airplane he was about to get on. Before he ended the call, he said to his son, ‘I love you. I’m proud of you. You are capable of big things.’

I’m glad my mask is absorbent because I was failing to choke back the tears.

When he sat back down, I told him how much he had impacted me.

I told him I work in the school system and that supportive parents are SO crucial to the lives and education of kiddos, but especially during the hard and weird and different times.

He just looked at me and said, ‘I just want him to know I am now, and always will be, his biggest fan.’

Parents, your kiddos are having a weird start to their school year.

Whether in-person, online, remote, or a hybrid model, this year is just plain different for everyone.

When they finish school today, or whenever they go back, get excited for them!

Ask them all of the questions, even if you sat 4 feet away from them as they did schooling from your dining room table, and you saw how it went. Celebrate your kids. Don’t make a big deal about how hard and different this may be.

You set the tone for this school year. Let’s make it a good one.”

This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Abby Anderson. You can follow her journey on Facebook. Submit your own story here and be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.

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