Amanda Lamb: Good bug

"Mommy, I think my teacher has a good bug,” my youngest child said shortly after school started.

“A good bug?” I asked.

“Yes, there’s a cartoon where the girl has a bad bug in her body. It makes her real mean. But my teacher is so special. She must have a good bug in her. Don’t you think so?” She looked up at me with smiling eyes.

“I sure do,” I replied knowing exactly what she meant.

My daughter is fortunate to have the same teacher for second grade that my older daughter had in fourth grade. DeAnna decided to switch to second grade this year - and it was our gain. Like many teachers I have met, she is filled with a bright light that draws children to her and inspires learning. Both of my daughters who have very different personalities - one is Type-A (can’t imagine where she gets that from), one is sweet and laid back - have been touched by DeAnna’s “good bug.” DeAnna makes it fun to go to school, and effortlessly keeps children engaged.

The thing about a “good bug” is that you can’t buy or develop it if you don’t already have it. It is just something you’re born with. But maybe, just maybe, a little bit of it might rub off on you if you hang around with people who have the “good bugs.”

“I know who else has a good bug,” I say to my daughter pulling her in close. “You.”