Start your child’s day with purpose and positivity.  Here’s how.

I was dressed in my full law enforcement uniform and ready for duty.  It was usually about 7:15am and I stood on the curb of the high school’s parking lot where many parents dropped off their children prior to starting their day. If you have a school aged child, you know the routine.  I’m sure many thought I was there for traffic control; but to be candid, that was the least of my concerns.  One of the greatest benefits I quickly caught on to was the opportunity to interact with the students and greet them.  It wasn’t hard to read their emotions based on their facial expressions and body language.  If emotions were like paint colors, then a high school campus, or any campus for that matter, is a palate of paints waiting for the artist’s brush.  I made the most of the opportunity and learned many faces and names amongst the student body; all the while, trying to soften the edge between a law enforcement officer and a teen.

I saw a lot: laughter, happiness, sadness, boredom, seriousness, excitement, apathy, and several others; however, the most concerning to me was the broken spirit.

My initial purpose for standing in the parking lot was to send a message to the wolves within our society that this campus had a sheepdog.  As important and effective as this was, I was opened up to a different type of education I hadn’t expected; I call it “The Exchanges.”

The exchanges occurred when the parent and child separated from each other as the child exited the car and headed into the school campus.  This simple moment, yet so apparently complicated based on what I saw, carried a double edge sword.  On the positive, it gave the child a huge boost in their confidence, self-esteem, and overall demeanor; however, the other edge cut deep.

“Good times come and go, but memories las ...