When Max was younger, he attended a charter school for a period of time. He had the most amazing teacher I absolutely loved. He loved her too. One year, he came home after the first day and said that Miss F. (Mel) had left. I was very sad....until I saw that the elementary my other two attended ad the good sense to snatch her up. I was secretly hoping that Sam would end up in her class because I thought some of the other teachers were just plain mean. One day, she stopped me in the hall and said she had requested Sam be placed in her class.
In case you are wondering....regular classroom teachers don't typically say, "PLEASE!!!! Give ME the kid with severe autism."
She was every bit as wonderful with Sam as she was with Max. I was thrilled when Josey got her too. Not just because she is so awesome, but also because it gave us the honor of being her first complete family. That automatically gets you a special place in a teacher's memory. Even though several years have passed, Mel and I have stayed in touch. Earlier this year she was on NPR telling a very personal story about her childhood. It touched me in particular because I like to think that one day my daughter might grow up to be just like Mel. Which leads me to the thank you part.....
Today I was out with my children when a business owner criticized me as a mother and told my daughter she and her siblings are destined to be screw ups. Want to know more? Believe me...I would love to tell you and start a campaign to shut him down. But the purpose of this project is supposed to be to focus on the good. You and I Dear Reader, will not allow somebody so inconsequential to rob us of that goal. Will we?
Anyway, I did share it with Mel. Her response: "Divorce happens and great parenting continues to happen in spite of it." That was exactly what I needed to hear from exactly the person who can say it with authority. Thanks Mel. When Josey grows up, I hope she's like you and I have been as good a mom to her as yours obviously was to you.
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