"Mommy!"

Two of the girls I tutor afterschool have taken to calling me "Mommy." Talk about disturbing. I am a long way from wanting children of my own, and this year has reaffirmed that ten times over.

Every time they say it, I remind them that I'm their teacher, not their mother. They see how strangely I react to the idea of being a mom, and they find it funny. That makes them say it more, I'm sure.

One afternoon, we went to the computer lab. One of these girls started typing a letter to me. It went something like this:

Hi Miss Dawn!

Do you want to know why I call you mommy? It's because you are so nice and so pretty and I love you so so so so so much much much much much!

Love,
Kim

There were a few more "so's" and "much's" but that was the gist, and the gist was heartwarming.