The stories this week are powerful, sad, overwhelming and humbling. Horrific tragedies and unsung heroes. The stories that have touched me to tears and sharing are the stories of those teachers who put their lives on the line for our children. Our children – who are their children for hours nearly every single day. I send my children off to school each day and into a classroom where I trust that their teachers will provide love, support, guidance and of course, an education. But there’s almost a moment at every drop-off, pick-up and field trip where I meet their eyes -and I know. They know. They are entrusted with our little worlds each day. Our loves, our lives and our futures – wrapped up in pink backpacks, mismatched shorts, ponytails, giggles and missing teeth.

Teachers have a hard job. A hard job that they must love so much. I admire them – and their drive, their endurance, their love and their desire to educate our children.

And yet, they are even so much more. Reading the stories of the teachers who used their own bodies as shields against a tornado…the teachers who saved their(our) babies lives. That’s how much they care.

And it’s our job as parents to give those and all teachers our full support – whether we can volunteer in the classroom, on a field trip, provide our kids with the rest and nourishment and homework help that we can, and give what we can to help the teachers have the means for the materials they need. We are all part of this equation.

As I mentioned earlier, I always buy nearly everything on the teacher’s classroom shared ‘would love to have’ wishlist as well as my daughter’s school supplies – but that’s in August. What about April and May when those supplies are running out and teachers are spending hundreds of dollars of their own money for classroom supplies – and not for the special extravagant things – we are talking about paper, ink, pencils and glue.