Another loss

As a teacher, I continually look forward to hearing about the lives of my former students, where they are, what is happening in their lives, the joys the struggles, and so on. What has shocked me, once again, is learning of yet another former student, a young man of 22, who has died this past weekend. You don't expect to hear these things about your former students....just like parents with their own children, we teachers expect that our students will outlive us. Wrapping one's mind around such devastating news seems impossible; what must it be like for the family? Once again, the daily reminder comes that life is not only precious, but can be short. How are we living it?