I looked at my post-9/11 middle school students this week and stated, “I hope you never experience in your lifetime the Moment.” I explained to them that many folks of my generation can give you the time and place that they experienced life changing news. For me, it was the assassination of JFK, the explosion of the Challenger space shuttle and the imploding of the twin towers by hijacked planes. Moments that have been forever seared into my brain with vivid imagery and accompanying emotions.
Ironically, the two books I finished reading this week happened to be written during the time of the 9/11 attacks. Each author explained how they dealt with the freshly inflicted pain. One author was finishing a time of solitude in a remote cabin in the Pacific Northwest. He shared that he felt a desperate need to connect with other people, the very thing he had been running from during his self induced seclusion. The other author, Barbara Kingsolver, stated that the only way she could bear such enormous grief was to peel away the layers of humanity and look for the small changes, the small wonders of life.
Small wonders do indeed abound around us. In my many years of teaching school, I have been blessed with many such wonders. Here are a few:
1) The tough kid, JH, who had an I’d-rather-be-anywhere-else-than-in-school-demeanor, reached out and helped the young lady sitting next to him turn the page in her textbook. The young lady had cerebral palsy and often struggled with the simplest of tasks. JH was my small wonder that day.
2) JE, a young man living in desperate poverty, received a treat as an award for a task well done. Within minutes he offered his treat to a classmate because he felt his classmate was having a bad day and needed a day brightener. Thank you, JE, for brightening mine.
3) The blind girl, TE, offered to push the wheelchair of SM on a trek through the hallways. TE explained that her legs worked and SM had the eyes to guide the way. I am blessed by the memory of that sweet symbiotic relationship. Two little girls, giggling down the hall, unaware of the gravity of their personal challenges. And, yes, a wall or two was sideswiped, but it was a moment of amazement for me.
4) JG, sitting in my room before school for the umpteenth time due to missing assignments, looked up as I answered the phone. The caller shared the news that a colleague who was struggling with cancer had just died. As tears welled up in my eyes, JG kindly asked if there was anything he could do to help. Well, JG, just having heard you ask the question was balm enough for the moment.
Moments are like the colorful stones of a necklace. Some stones are large and gaudy, demanding immediate attention. Others are small and delicate, sparkling with subtle brilliance.
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