As my sons and I strolled through Publix one day this summer, we rounded a corner and my 5-year-old stopped in his tracks. There, standing in the middle of the aisle mulling over canned goods was (gasp!) a teacher from his school. Dazed and confused, he whispered, “What’s she doing here?”

She looked over, smiled and said, “I like your shirt.” My son looked down and stared at the name of his preschool ironed across the front. “Are you having a good summer?” she continued. He nodded, still dumbstruck.

Earlier this year, my son saw another teacher getting into her car at the end of the day. He ran up to her, and she rolled down the window. “Ms. Bonnie, you have a car?” She laughed and said, “Well, yes. I have a car and a house and children. I have a whole family.” It never occurred to him.

This took me back to 1980 when I saw my kindergarten teacher having dinner with her family at a barbecue restaurant. I stared at her, agape, not believing she was really there. And then in fourth grade, I spent the night with my best friend and spotted her mom (a teacher at our elementary school) drinking a beer. Teachers drink beer? I couldn’t believe it. She looked relaxed and, dare I say it, kind of cool. We laugh about it now.

It raises the question: How do teachers balance their personal and professional lives?

“It’s a tough line to walk,” says Kristi Meeuwse, a kindergarten teacher at Drayton Hall Elementary School. But she doesn’t mind seeing her students and their families in public.

“Once, at the Coastal Carolina Fair, I heard my name squealing from the heights of a Ferris wheel. One of my students saw me from their seat on the ride.”

And when she runs into her students, one of the first things they ask is, “Where is Mrs. Mack?” Mack is Meeuwse’s teaching assistant.

“I think the children think we live together or are always in tandem.”

Meeuwse, who’s been a teacher for 22 years, says her students see her as an extension of home. And it’s a responsibility she takes seriously.

“When teaching writing, I often tell stories about my dog or what I did over the weekend with family or friends. It draws them in and helps them relate their own stories in a similar fashion.”

Meeuwse often attends student birthday parties, dance recitals and baseball games. And many years ago, when she got married during the school year, she invited her entire class.

“Most of them came! They were very excited and most were awestruck seeing me as a bride. They talked about it the rest of the year. They had difficulty remembering my new name, but they were still excited.”

But Meeuwse is not immune to the occasional awkward encounter. She recalls the time she and her husband were in Costco, shopping for his staff Christmas party.

“We were in the beer and wine section with several cases of alcohol in the shopping cart. One of my students came up with her mother and grandmother. Even though I know it wasn’t a problem, I was still embarrassed to be standing there in front of them with this cart full of beer and wine. I felt like I had to explain that it wasn’t ALL for just us!”

And what about Facebook?

“I personally don’t mind ‘friending’ my parents. I am careful about what goes on my Facebook page. I don’t think most parents would want to see their child’s teacher post on their status every day about what a horrible day it was! I think it’s important to be that good role model and include them in as much as is appropriate,” Meeuwse says.

As a mom, I consider this great advice. But if my son is anything like I was at his age, his teachers may have a tough time convincing him they don’t sleep on a cot behind their desks.

Angie Mizzell does most of her writing with two small children swinging from her limbs. Her personal essays have been published in several print and online publications. Contact her at angiemizzell.com.