I went to the concert

Not because I like concerts

But because I like music

And I like the young people who were singing that night.

I sat with my daughter in my lap,

Watching the boys in the back row,

Right on the cusp of becoming men

Singing with passion and delight

And was drawn into the exuberant joy

And expression that I don’t normally find

On their bright faces.

The strange thing about working with young people

Is that you don’t know how much of an impact you really have.

They don’t tell you what they think of you,

Or how much you mean to them.

Not directly.

You are forced to parse it out

By finding meaning in the subtle behaviors-

They engaged you in a conversation,

they raised their hand to ask a question,

they smiled at you from across the room.

But there are moments when you know for sure

How much your presence in a young person’s life

Has become essential.

And sometimes that moment happens

After you’ve listened to the concert,

When a young man becomes choked with emotion at your praise

And for the first time, you open wide your arms to him

And he melts against you.