Leaving footprints on my heart

I know I have talked about my job numerous times but sometimes I just get an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for the joy & happiness it brings into my life. Many of you already know that I work at day center for adults with disabilities with soon to be 27 clients & 10 staff (we are getting new clients this next week). It's a pretty incredible place. It has its flaws & moments where I am pulling out my hair (mostly due to noise levels and being in charge of running the whole program... you think a kindergarten class is loud & noisy- you aint seen nothing yet!!) But overall, the opportunities to serve these amazing people has taught me more than ANY college class I have ever taken or will take.

Today something very touching happened. I was walking around my building making sure everything was running smoothly and one of my clients waved at me trying to get my attention and then signed that he loved me. Normally I don't condone this because we try to teach them socially acceptable things to do/say in a "normal" work setting but I couldn't help but smile and let it melt my heart. What a great example of unconditional love. I have worked at my job for almost 3 years now and I (besides my direct supervisor) have worked with these clients the longest in our portion of the company, so it's a cool feeling to know that I have not only touched these client's lives for good, but in return, they have touched mine more than they can possibly know.

When Geoff and I move in a year to Texas, I am going to cry my guts out leaving my job. And although I plan to always be in the special education field for the rest of my life, I will miss these special people dearly. It's like the saying goes: Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some people stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same.