Best barbecue guest

Elysha and I hosted a barbecue on Sunday. Our backyard and deck were filled with neighbors and friends. I had a joyous time for many reasons, but the one that will stand out for me will be the presence of Allison.

I first met Allison back in 1999 as a 7 year-old second grader in my very first class. When I moved from second to third grade at the end of that year, Allison moved with me, giving me the opportunity to teach her for a second year. Allison then moved onto other grade and other teachers. but I stayed close to her and her family as she moved up through and then out of elementary school.

When Allison became a teenager, she also became Clara’s first babysitter. As she got older and began attending college, she became one of our children’s primary caregivers, babysitting often and becoming a real member of our family.

Three years ago, I had the honor of officiating the marriage of Allison to her husband, Kieth.

She’s been in my life for a long, long time.

When Allison arrived at the barbecue on Sunday, she was eight months pregnant.

I can still see the second grade version of Allison, perpetually decked in a purple sweatshirt, sitting in my classroom, quiet, shy, and attentive. I can see that image in my mind’s eye like I taught her yesterday.

But on Sunday, she was sitting in a chair on my lawn, a grown woman, a month or so away from becoming a mother. Instead of teaching her to read and subtract, I was advising her and Keith to write to their child everyday like I did for my children.

Just a little bit every day, I told them, will mean the world to their child in the coming years.

It did for mine.

I also advised Keith to eat before going to the hospital. I failed to do so prior to the birth of Clara, so almost a full day passed between meals for me. This resulted in my collapse in a hospital hallway on my way to getting food two hours after Clara was born.

Before meeting Elysha at the hospital for the birth of Charlie, I stopped at a McDonald’s and ate two Quarter Pounders with Cheese.

I wasn’t taking any chances.

Great friends attended our barbecue on Sunday. New neighbors who we met for the first time. Old friends. Children from the neighborhood.

Also one former student turned friend and now soon-to-be mother.

The unexpected joys of teaching.