When Reading Student Writing Suddenly Becomes Less of a Chore...

I love when I come across a passage from my students' writing that just makes me proud to be their teacher. I'm reading writing assignments right now that were inspired by my Uncle Tom's essay "My Father's Voice" when I came across these lines from a boy in my 6th grade English class:

My Grandpa [is] sitting in his big red chair in front of the T.V. We listen quietly as he tells stories of the olden days, which I can only picture in my head in black and white. His eyes close behind his glasses on his wrinkled face. His laugh bellows across the room. "What if I don't hear him laugh again," I think to myself...

His laugh reminds me how sugar cookies are always ready when I get to his house. And they're always amazing. How the candy orange slices are always in a jar on the counter. I walk in and ask, "Where are the orange slices?" as if I didn't already know.

The entire piece was so touching, but those passages really just tugged at my heartstrings. I hope he doesn't mind that I quoted his writing here.