Mystery Person

Peyton was the mystery person for his Kindergarten class last week. Basically all week at school, the teacher gives the kids clues about the "mystery person" and they get to guess who it is. On Friday, I got to go to Peyton's class and talk to the kids about him. We made a poster with pictures of him and all of his family...we also wrote down some of his favorite things (like favorite colors, favorite activities, favorite treats, etc.). We showed the poster to the class, then we got to answer all of the questions that the kids prepared for Peyton. At first it seemed a little bit silly to me to spend 15 minutes in his classroom talking about Peyton. We spent about an hour or more just making his poster. I think I was a little bit frustrated that day....I was up late the night before, didn't sleep well when I did get to bed, I had to work that night...so I really needed sleep, and Jared had to miss work for a few hours to stay home with the baby. I was just ready to get it over with. I also knew that I would get home from the school and have to go back an hour later to pick Peyton up. It all seemed like a crazy waste of time. I wasn't going to get a nap that day....which meant that by the next time I would go to bed, I'd have been up for more than 24 hours. Anyway, I got to the school at 10 a.m. and waited in the office for Peyton to come get me. When he got to the office, I saw this proud look in his eyes. He grabbed my hand and walked me to his classroom. He was so excited for me to be there. He was even more excited to be able to show me to the class. He couldn't wait for me to sit up there and talk about him...about what a great kid he is...and how much we love him. I got to tell the kids all about Peyton's favorite things...and he got to interrupt and share funny things as well. I think I realized at that point, it was worth it. Every hard thing that I had to deal with that day...and the next 24 hours, was totally worth that 15 minutes in my son's classroom. It was worth it to see him so happy. It was worth it to watch him talk to the class with that big smile on his face. I came to the realization that it's these moments that are important, and this is all that kids really need. Someone to want to be there, and someone to love them for who they are. After we were done sharing, we passed out a treat for the kids....one of Peyton's favorites...DOUGHNUTS of course! Peyton gave me a big hug before I left. It makes me proud to have such a wonderful son. I'm so glad I got to share that time with him!