Small Moments, Full Heart

Do you ever wish you had a crystal ball or some other magical device that you could peer inside and see what life would be like without you? Or better explained, what life on planet earth is like because of you. Do you make a difference? Do I make a difference? Is the world a better place because I was in it?

Today for me was a pay day. Normally I don't have time to think about what kind of impact I might have on the greater good of humanity. In the trenches of motherhood is where I spend my time teaching and shaping and nurturing.

Before I took upon myself the sacred, yet unappreciated profession of motherhood, I was a teacher, another underrated but extremely important profession. I had a small class of students with sever disabilities on the island of Oahu in a city called Kaneohe at a small school called Kapunahala. It was a very difficult and very intrinsically rewarding job. I had a student named Jonathan. He was a 4TH grader in my 3RD-4TH grade combination class. Jonathan is a success story. Jonathan sparkled. His heart was kind and his talent unbridled. The only think lacking was a few learning skills that I felt certain were within his grasped. I helped exit him from a fully self contained special education class into a resource room for only language and math. In Hawaii, this was like trying to dig up a coconut tree with a child's sand shovel. It was hard and I had very little support from other teachers and administration. But it was done.

In the mail today, I got a graduation announcement. It was from sweet Jonathan who remembers me still. There was a note attached and this is what it says:

Dear Mrs. Davis,

I don't know if you remember me but I will always remember you. I was in your 4TH grade class at Kapunahala Elementary School in Hawaii. i just need you to know that I believe that my graduation from high school would never have been possible if it were not for you. You believed in me and never gave up on me when the entire public school system did. You made my transition from special education happen and I can never express the amount of gratitude that I feel because of that. You gave me the confidence I needed that I needed to believe in myself and that confidence has lasted through the years and has helped me achieve numerous accomplishments in my life. I am graduating on time because of your dedication. It takes a special person to be a teacher but it takes an exceptional person to do what you did for me. As I continue onto adulthood i will remember always that you took the time to see in me what no one else could and I will hold a good thought for you and I hope you will hold one for me.

Thank you,

Jonathan

For me today, that was a really big payday. Little does Jonathan know that I will never forget him. I'll make sure to tell him.

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In other news, Lindsay was kind enough to allow me to do a photo shoot with her. She was a little nervous because cars kept passing by full of people she knew waving and screaming. Next time I will have to find a more remote location! To see more click here.