She walked passed my room and waved, but then something brought her back around.

"Hi, Ms. Wong."

"Hi, Daniela!" I went over to give her a hug. "How are you?"

She returned the hug. "Thank you," she said.

Confused, I looked at her. "Thank you? For what sweetie?"

"Mrs. Cross called me and told me I got a 90% on my CST. It was all because of you, so thank you."

It wasn't all because of me, but her gratitude meant so much.

"You did the work, babe. Congratulations. Keep working hard in 6th grade, ok?"

She looked up and smiled at me. Then walked out of the room.

The transition out of teaching the Oxy Class of 2020 has been hard. I've never had my own classroom without them in it. I miss them. I miss their families. I miss knowing about their lives. I love my little ones, but it's just so...different.