Hello, my name is Mia, and I teach fourth grade.

I love my profession because it allows me to spend more time with my son, Luke, and because it allows me to shape young brains.

It’s not easy being a single mother, but I’ve been raising Luke largely by myself for the past five years. Let’s just say that I wouldn’t use the word “present” to describe his father.

For him, spending weekends with Dad was less of a routine and more of a faraway recollection. Four months ago, things gradually began to feel a little lighter. I met Jake at that time. He was a good-hearted fellow educator who had a laugh that made his eyes wrinkle.

The best part was that Jake adored children. But I wasn’t sure how Luke would respond if he found out that I was seeing someone else. I felt that Luke would be impacted by the idea of sharing me with someone else because he had always been so attached to me. I knew it was time to introduce Luke to Jake, even though it made my stomach turn. After considering it for days, I made the decision to go ahead and do it.

One bright afternoon, I called out to him, “Hey, Luke-a-doodle,” as he was deep in concentration on a particularly complex Lego construction. “How would you describe having lunch with a special someone this weekend?”Luke’s eyes glinted mischievously as he gazed up. “Unique, eh? Like a birthday cake or superhero special? “Much like a friend special,” I said uneasily. “His name is Jake, and like me, he works as a teacher.” Luke’s forehead wrinkled. “An additional educator?

Does he resemble Mr. Henderson in having a beard? Because of his amazing salt-and-pepper beard, our ever-patient janitor, Mr. Henderson, was nearly a legend among the students. I laughed. “He has a really cool laugh, but he doesn’t have a beard.” The next Saturday came, and I was giddy with excitement as I took Luke to a nearby pizza to meet Jake. Luke paused at first and held on to my leg. But Jake calmed my small boy down right away.