When a Student Sends a Photo of Feedback Given on Her First-Ever Poetry Collection 25 Years Later, You Get Some Sort of Feeling Inside

I was not expecting in. It was a random email where a student of yesteryear reported her mother was cleaning out her home and found a poetry anthology written by her daughter, an 8th grade student, that neither of them could quite throw away. 

I remember the student, the year, and mostly all the adult life she's experienced...kids, divorce, remarrying, building a career, a Louisville life, and 25 years later an email to say, "Thank You." She actually wrote to say, "You've always been a great human in the lives of so many of us." 

Phew. 

And I read what I wrote, recognize the handwriting, appreciate the time I took to give such feedback, and remain in complete curiosity what the poems look like today. I'd love to read them, as I cherished the times I had in Kentucky teaching writing in the age of portfolio-assessment. Kentucky kids were taught to be writers at all grade levels and in all classes. It was a remarkable time to work with high school kids, especially as they set out to define who they want/wanted to be. 

25 years later...that's what I'm trying to get my head around....being a ghost in the life of a yesteryear student, but seeing I've maintained my zest for what it possible with student writers. And yes, what is possible with developed, heart-felt feedback. 

It made my week and will be full for some time. This aging thing is something.