It was 8:41 a.m. The school bell rang at 8:40. The children were coming into class and getting ready for the day. These kids were just five years old, experiencing their first year at school.

As they sat down and started singing their “start of the day” songs, I noticed a little girl standing by the door. I walked over to her. Tears were rolling down her face. I squatted down and put my hand on her shoulder, asking what had happened.

“I miss my Mum,” she said.

I glanced towards the front gate of the school and saw her mum walking out.

“Mum has to go to work,” I replied.

“No, she doesn’t. She is going home. I want to go home and spend the day with my Mum.”

“Well, you need to be at school today. We’ve got lots of fun things to learn,” I said.

She wasn’t impressed. So, I asked her if Mum was going to pick her up after school, and she said yes.

I looked into her teary eyes and said, “Well, you have a choice to make.”

She held my gaze, and I continued, “You can choose to be sad today. Maybe you won’t have fun in class or play with your friends at recess and lunch, but Mum will be here in six hours. OR, you can choose to be happy, play with your friends, learn some new things, and Mum will still be here in six hours.”

I left her with that and went inside the class to take the roll. It wasn’t long before she wandered over and sat at the back of the mat with the rest of the children. As I sent them off to their activities, she came over to me.

“Miss Rachael, I choose happy.”

And with that, she went off and had a great day.

And Mum was still there in six hours!