I run

        It is the night before school starts. I have just gotten home from an eventful back to school night where I met my 22 students and their families.

        Tomorrow is a big day, and I need to clear my head.  I hop in my car and head up Emigration Canyon. Stepping out of my car, I am greeted by a refreshing summer night air.

And up the trail I run.

I run for them. My 22 students.

          My heart is pounding and I run for them. Up through tall Kentucky bluegrass. Casiopia, polaris, and the big dipper hang in the sky above me.

          It’s dark. The sound of crickets fills the silence. And suddenly, the present moment becomes overwhelming. My thoughts go to them- twenty-two students that will enter my classroom tomorrow. A Bosnian refugee, a shy Hispanic English language learner, a student who has been retained twice and has an IEP. I run for their struggles, for the inequalities they will face throughout their lifetime. I run for their successes, for their failures, for their triumphs, for their past and for their future.

          My legs are tired, my lungs feel tight. I am exhausted. Yet… I think of them, and I feel full.  

          I run for those who can’t, I run for a brighter tomorrow, for things that will come and things that are.

          I run.

 And the stars…they are above me. They are the things we share.

                                                      I'm ready for tomorrow.