It's was spring 2004, and I was in the second grade.
I had just finished reading another installment of the Magic Tree House series that I checked out two days prior.
Feeling like the man after acing the AR test for the book, I promptly returned it to the school library in the same condition I had received it in for the next one in the series.
Y'all remember that now.
The next day, right before lunch time, I'm told by my teacher that I need to go see the librarian before lunch.
They had tater tots that day, (and y'all know tater tots were the creme de la creme of side items back in elementary school) so I hurried on down to the library.
When I got there, I was met by the glare of one of the assistant librarians. In her hand she held the book I returned the day before.
Or should I say what was left of it.
The book was in shreds! Pages were ripped, the cover was torn in half, and the whole first chapter was missing. It was a travesty, to say the least.
"Did you do this?"
"No, when I turned it in yesterday it was just fine."
"Do you have any siblings at home? A pet?
I shook my head.
"Well, you're gonna have to pay for this since you were the last one to check it out."
"But I didn't do it!"
"Well someone's gotta pay for it. And that somebody is you."
Shocked, angry, and embarrassed, I trudged back to my second grade classroom. My teacher pulled me aside and asked me what happened, and I proceeded to tell her.
When I finished, she nodded her head, started to say something, then paused. Finally, she looked me square in the eye and asked me, "Did you destroy that book?"
I told her no.
Then she said, "Well, then there's no reason why you should pay for something you didn't do. I'll take care of it."
And it was in that moment that I knew I had the best teacher in the whole, wide world.
It wasn't even about the money for my teacher. It was about trusting what she knew to be true about me. I may have talked excessively and incessantly, but I was far from a liar. Looking back on this situation years later, I realized that that was the first time that I felt like someone really believed in me. And for that, I'm forever grateful for her.
So, to Mrs. Cindy Loney, wherever you are, I just want to say, thank you.
And Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!
