I was sitting in a restaurant at a 40^th birthday party for a family friend. After about half an hour, I noticed a table of slightly rowdy young adults waving and laughing. It took me a minute to actually focus on the faces rather than the behaviour. One of the party was a former student. As my eyes traced around the table, I realized that the remaining diners were not just former students, but three out of the seven members of my pastoral care group from five years before. They were waving for me to come over and say hello. It amused them that it had taken me so long to catch on that they were waving to me!

I left my celebrations for a quick reunion. There was one student at the table I thought was an outsider, so I held out my hand and introduced myself. 'Anthony' I said. He smiled and the other diners laughed. 'It's Stuie!' they said. I looked again ... and realized he was also a former student. His face had changed so much, I didn’t recognize him.  Each gave me a quick summary of their work or uni history, and informed me of the whereabouts of other students from their year who they knew I’d got along with. It was great. Kids are great.

They all seemed happy, contented young adults. One of my former tutees, Charles, was a bit of a tear-away at school, but the spirit that had got him into trouble in school had allowed him to thrive in the real world. I had always known it would, and never really made any attempt to reshape him. After about 25 minutes – and realizing I was missed at the 40^th celebrations – I explained I had to go. I shook their hands, but Charles stood up, wrapped his arms around me, and gave me a hug. As he did, he whispered into my ear. ‘I’ve missed you, Noons.’ I just smiled and thanked him. 'I've missed you too, Chuck.'

Moments like that stay with you a lifetime, and as a teacher, you have the opportunity to experience lots of moments like that. Make the most of every one.