Back in February, I posted this.

I honestly thought that was the end of the story.

This evening, while we were talking about tomorrow's seating arrangement for recognition day, my daughter mentioned that each student only gets one parent to sit beside them. Jay and I were trying to decide who would sit where when she casually said,

Celine and City messaged me.. They said they want you to sit with us because they miss you...

That caught me completely off guard.

Not because I think I'm anything special, but because if you had told me a year ago that teenagers would miss me before my PTA term had even ended, I would've laughed.

I walked into that school as a quiet, introverted, work-from-home mom who preferred staying in the background. I avoided small talk whenever I could. I certainly never imagined doing all these non-introverted PTA stuff. Even more so getting to know so many students outside my own children's circles.

Yet somehow, over the past year, I've gone from being "Kiera's mom" to someone a few other kids apparently look forward to seeing.

As my PTA term comes to an end, it's been teachers, staff, security guards, fellow parents, and now even the students saying they hope I continue.

Life has a funny way of changing us.

Sometimes we say yes to something because of our own children. Then somewhere along the way, without even realizing it, we become part of other kids' school memories- that mom who always smiled, the parent who talked to them, the one who made them feel seen.

I don't know yet what happens after my term ends. But if this year taught me anything, it's that simply showing up matters more than we realize.

Apparently, people notice. Even the quiet kids.