Paper Sand

She turned the hourglass over and smiled as sand trickled from one end to the other slowly, though she knew the minute she turned her head and focused on something else, the sand would disappear, as though it had always been in the bottom half of the glass that held it. It didn't matter right this moment, she was here, bathed in sunlight from a smartly positioned window at her keyboard.

As her mind meandered through the last few weeks of papers to grade, and challenges given, she knew that the time had been well spent. There was something about every one of them that made her smile. Like a garden, only the seeds she was planting now, were planted in the brains of people who would till their own ground as time passed. She could only imagine what types of flowers might bloom.

Words spoken, or written to her, from them, moved like gentle breezes through her mind: "Everyone should have an opportunity to be in your class." And while she knew they meant it, it was only the beginning of a wonderful world of learning they were just getting started on. She was grateful that they found a way to love words, and what they meant, but this was only the beginning of their journey… she was lucky to have been a part of it.